Your Anything
by SouthernStars
Summary: TxG Originally, he was her sisters boyfriend. But that had been three years ago when they'd become friends and only friends. He'd gone away to college and now, a year later, he was back and suddenly they'd gone from being friends to wanting to be anything
1. Straightened Hair

Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: Well, I know I'm should be working on SFM but truthfully, it's been quite hard to actually get the next chapter started. Not because I have no muse though! I think it's because it's such a difficult chapter to write and honestly, there has been nothing to prompt me. Anyway, I was thinking about trying to get away from the heavy stuff that I've been writing lately and write some fluff. Think 'Convincing You To Fall' fluff. It was an inspiration from listening to some of Taylor Swift's songs. I'm not too sure why, but I've recently been getting into her music (I'm not a fan of country) and not here I am feeling inspired! Anyway, I can't be bothered to write a description but I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

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_**Your Anything  
**_

**Chapter One: Straightened Hair  
**

_Did it honestly matter what she looked like for this dinner? Fifteen year old Gabriella Montez thought sullenly as she struggled to straighten her unruly ebony curls. It wasn't like they were going out with her mother's new boyfriend or anything. It was just her sister's newest conquest and Gabriella knew from past experience that she could walk out of her room naked and the new guy wouldn't even spare one glance at her. She wasn't that important to them, after all they were there to make an impression on her mother and not her. She was just the invisible younger sister who Katie, her seventeen year old sister, only ever remembered to mention when she was standing right next to her and there was no other way to avoid it._

_Huffing both at her irritation with her older sister and the uselessness of her unruly hair. Gabriella threw down her brush and hair iron and hastily pulled her hair up in a messy ponytail that she knew would have her sister frowning at her in disapproval. Examining herself in the mirror, Gabriella smiled at her reflection, pleased that she looked nothing like her sister and praying the she would be able to leave this stupid dinner early. _

_Hearing the doorbell ring and her sister's excited shriek, Gabriella's smile instantly turned into a resigned look. Pushing away from the bathroom counter, Gabriella took a deep breath and opened the door. Wrinkling her nose as she made her way downstairs to the living room where she could hear introductions being made, Gabriella wondered who Katie's new boyfriend was and why she seemed so excited to see him. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him at school. _

_Unless, of course, he was way too old for her and had all kinds of piercing and tattoos, which meant her mother would freak out and Katie's new perfect life would be ruined._

_"There she is! Gabriella, where have you been?" The relief in Katie's voice had Gabriella looking at her curiously, wondering why on earth her sister would care why she was late at all._

_"Huh?" She asked and then shook her head at her sister's glare. "Sorry. I mean, I was in the bathroom trying to straighten my hair. Trying being the operative word." Gabriella explained quickly when her mother glared at her warningly._

_"Oh. It didn't work, did it?" Katie asked, her brown eyes running over her sisters messy ponytail critically. Gabriella looked pleadingly at her mother at Katie's comment, wanting to not leave a comment that stupid unpunished. Christina Montez rolled her eyes at her youngest daughter._

_"No Katie, it worked perfectly, can't you see how straight all my _curls_ are?" Gabriella shot back and Katie stared at her, apparently confused with what she had said. Before Katie could retaliate, Gabriella heard a low chuckle and watched in disgust as Katie's eyes lit up in excitement. _

_"Troy!" She exclaimed and Katie brushed past her sister, in such a hurry that Gabriella couldn't help but raise her eyebrows and open her mouth to comment on the rush when she saw the warning look on her mothers face. _

_Screwing up her face at the warning look, Gabriella counted to three before she turned around, just to make sure that nothing sarcastic flew out of her mouth when she saw her sister. Turning, Gabriella suddenly found herself swallowing hard as she met bright blue eyes that twinkled at her curiously. _

_"Gabriella, this is my boyfriend, Troy. Baby, this is my little sister Gabriella." Katie's voice seemed a little too smug for Gabriella's liking as she introduced her new boyfriend to her little sister. _

_Narrowing her eyes, Gabriella suddenly realized why her sister was so smug. She'd managed to snag the most popular guy that went to East High and, as she looked at him, Gabriella suddenly wished she'd managed to straighten her hair. _

That, as far as seventeen year old Gabriella was concerned, was one of the only times she had ever been self-conscious. It had been a feeling she had neither appreciated nor known how to handle. So she'd spent the entire dinner pushing food around her plate and pretending that she couldn't hear anything that was asked of her. A very immature move she'd been reprimanded for after Katie and Troy had gone outside to say goodnight. Something she had deliberately interrupted ten minutes later because her sister's cell phone wouldn't stop ringing and she was beginning to get annoyed. Unfortunately, she had ended up being scarred for life at what she had walked in, or out, on and ended up telling Katie that next time she'd better take her phone with her or risk losing a hair extension. A threat that had amused Troy to no end. It was something that he had often repeated to her sister during their one year relationship and something her sister had told her off for the duration of their relationship.

It had been an enjoyable cycle that Gabriella had chosen never to repeat again, which had led to her avoiding all of her sister's later boyfriends.

Hearing someone sit down on the bench opposite her, Gabriella looked up from the calculus homework she had been in the middle of doing before she had been pulled into the memory of meeting Troy and met inquisitive brown eyes that belonged to none other than Sharpay Evans, the Ice Princess of East High and Gabriella best friend.

"You've got that I'm-thinking-about-Troy look on your face again." Sharpay stated conversationally and Gabriella frowned slightly at the blonde's bluntness. Honestly, was it so hard for her friend to start a conversation with a simple 'hello'?

"Good morning Sharpay. How are you?" Gabriella began pleasantly and couldn't help but giggle as the blonde rolled her eyes at Gabriella's attempt at acting serene. However, Sharpay smiled pleasantly at her friend and replied.

"Good morning to you, too, Gabriella. I am feeling quite happy this morning. I presume you feel the same?" The English accent that accompanied her reply caused both girls to erupt into giggles a few seconds after she had spoken.

Still giggling slightly, Gabriella shut her calculus book and put it, along with her pencil case, away. Facing her friend again when she was finished, seeing Sharpay's attention occupied elsewhere Gabriella couldn't help but admire her friend. Sharpay had a sense of style and air of elegance that was hard to pull off for anyone who didn't hold Sharpay's personality. Gorgeous in her own right, Sharpay had always known how to take herself from one level of beauty to another and Gabriella knew that even when she was at home surrounded by only her family, Sharpay would still look gorgeous. It was in her friend's nature to look her best at all times and her own self-teaching that had her looking it every time she stepped out of her bedroom.

"Anyway, wanna tell me why you were thinking about your sisters' ex?" Sharpay's question snapped Gabriella out of her admiration of her and Gabriella blinked twice as she tried to wrap her head around the question.

"I honestly don't know. I was sitting here doing by calculus homework and all of a sudden I was thinking about the first time I met him." Gabriella replied, cradling her chin in her hand as she watched her classmates greet each other exuberantly. Sharpay wrinkled her nose slightly at Gabriella's words.

"Wasn't that the time you walked out on the making out against his car or something?" She asked, watching her friend who apparently seemed far away again. Gabriella's attention shifted from the greeting kids to her friend and she shrugged.

"Uh-huh. It was. I'm still never going to recover from seeing his hand up her skirt. Seriously, it was gross." Gabriella shuddered at the mental image of her then seventeen year old sister and her boyfriend.

"Of course it was. You just had to ring me up to tell me all about it, too." Sharpay agreed and Gabriella giggled at her slightly affronted tone of voice. It was just like Sharpay to pretend that she hadn't wanted to know anything of the sort and still be the one who asked questions about it all.

"Duh. Who else was I going to call who would appreciate the grossness of the situation? Kelsi? She would have hung up the moment I mentioned my sister." Gabriella shot back good-naturedly and Sharpay could only make a sound of agreement. Silence fell over the two as Sharpay looked away from her.

Looking around, in search of something of vague interest too her, Gabriella caught sight of her two other friends, Ryan Evans, Sharpay's twin and Gabriella's closest male friend, and Kelsi Nielson, Gabriella's oldest friend, Sharpay's songwriter and Ryan's crush, heading towards them. Their heads were bent together and Gabriella, as she looked more closely, could have sworn that the two of them were holding hands.

"Hey Shar, look over there." Gabriella nodded towards Ryan and Kelsi, who had yet to notice that they had an audience. Sharpay looked over and her mouth dropped open in shock at the sight that was presented.

"Are they holding hands?" She whispered to Gabriella as they came closer. Gabriella, who could see a little more clearly now, nodded in excitement. Unable to believe that maybe after three years of nothing, progress had _finally_ been made.

"I think so." Gabriella murmured back as the two came closer. Before Sharpay could squeal excitedly or Gabriella could interpret anything from their body language, Ryan and Kelsi abruptly dropped hands and approached where they were sitting.

"Good morning." Ryan Evans smiled pleasantly at his twin and Gabriella fought back a giggle at the reproachful look on Sharpay's face. Apparently, Sharpay wanted to dissect their body language as well.

"Good morning Ryan." Gabriella smiled back at him, secretly pleased that he had chosen to wear jeans and a green t-shirt that made him look like a regular teenager instead of his sister's dress up doll. It had taken her the better part of seven years to convince him that it was okay to wear something simple to school that didn't have pink, rhinestones on it or was an exceptionally tight fit. Now that Ryan had taken the first tentative step, Sharpay was beginning to complain that it was hard to get him out of jeans.

"Hi Gabriella, Sharpay." Kelsi spoke up, glancing between her two friends and knowing almost instantly that they'd seen her and Ryan walking up. Sharpay shot her an appraising look before replying.

"Hey Kelsi. How were those new songs you were writing going?" Sharpay asked, smirking slightly when Kelsi simply blushed. Gabriella glanced at Sharpay confusedly, unsure if she was imagining a double meaning to Sharpay's question.

"Well, has anyone heard anything new?" Ryan cut in loudly before Kelsi could reply. Gabriella glanced at Sharpay who was glaring at her brother and then offered a smile to some freshman who looked startled at the loudness of Ryan's voice. They glanced from him to her and the hurried away.

"Gabriella's been thinking about Troy Bolton again." Sharpay said causally and Gabriella wanted to groan as Ryan's eyes widened and Kelsi narrowed hers to look at Gabriella. Gabriella shot a venomous look in Sharpay's direction.

"Really? Gabriella, you haven't spoken to the guy in what? A year, maybe two?" Ryan asked incredulously and Gabriella wanted to huff like a child who had gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar at his accusing tone.

"It's no big deal guys. I was just remembering something about when I first met him." Gabriella tried to brush it off, not really wanting to admit that she'd been remembering how she had been worrying about her appearance when she'd first met those bright blue eyes.

"Not a big deal? Gabriella, you've been thinking about the guy since he left Albuquerque." Kelsi argued and Gabriella couldn't help but roll her eyes. Standing up, she glanced at Sharpay who stood up as well, before smiling tightly at Ryan and Kelsi.

"Guys, seriously, it's not a big deal." Gabriella's tone warned all of them off any further lecturing or arguing and Sharpay suddenly nodded.

"Okay. Its not. Lets go. Leave the lovebirds alone." Gabriella was too aware of Sharpay's habits to not know that her ploy had simply been to get Ryan and Kelsi out of the conversation so she could lecture Gabriella on the wisdom of thinking about Troy.

Without waiting for an answer from either Kelsi or Ryan, Gabriella stalked off, not quite sure why she was so annoyed. It wasn't that they had annoyed her as such; more like told her that she shouldn't be thinking about someone who had been such a good friend to her during his relationship with her sister and afterwards. Not that they'd been best friends. He'd just been really good to her before he had left for college. Being there for her when no-one else could be or at least, when she didn't want anyone else to be. That was all.

So what if every now and then she'd catch herself thinking about him? Even if it had been nearly a year since she had last seen him, she was allowed to think about a good friend right?

Especially because she knew it was highly doubtful she'd ever see Troy Bolton again. He'd gone off to college at the end of the summer last year and Gabriella hadn't heard from him since. Though they had both assured each other that they would stay in touch, after all he had her email address and cell number and she had his. So, it shouldn't have been that hard to stay in touch, right? Wrong. As soon as he'd left, Gabriella had found herself to afraid to try and email him or text message him that she had put it off and put it off. Until it had been halfway through the year and she hadn't heard from him either and that's what had stopped even the thought of trying to contact him. Troy not emailing or messaging was enough for Gabriella to convince herself that he wasn't going to ever and that she shouldn't worry about it either.

"Gabrieeeeeella! Wait up!" Sharpay's singing her name was enough to get Gabriella to stop in her tracks, unsure how to handle having her name become a musical number. Sighing, she turned around to face her friend, who immediately brightened when she saw Gabriella was looking at her. Smoothly, Sharpay slid her arm through Gabriella's and began steering her towards the entrance doors to East High.

"Shar, I'm not sure how comfortable I am with you turning my name into a song." Gabriella said, trying hard not to sound like she whining as she let herself be steered towards their homeroom. Sharpay simply smiled and patted her hand.

"You'll live." She said and then continued. "Now, are you going to tell me why you got so annoyed at Ryan and Kelsi when you and I both know its kind of your fault that you're only thinking about Troy and not talking to him?" Sharpay asked pleasantly and Gabriella couldn't help but frown at her words.

"I don't know. 'Cause I could, I guess. I mean, it's not like they can tell me that I'm not allowed to think of a friend, right?" Gabriella asked and missed the way Sharpay rolled her eyes at the question. She'd heard the same question whenever she had called Gabriella out for thinking about Troy.

"Of course not. Its just the way you do it kind of makes it seem like your pining for him and not just thinking of him in the friendly way you want it to mean." Sharpay stated matter-of-factly and Gabriella shot her a nasty look, not liking what she had said.

"I am not pining for Troy. I just happen to think about him every now and then." She snapped and Sharpay managed to just hold back a snort at her denial.

"Okay. Whatever." She agreed resignedly. Gabriella just smiled at her friend, happy that they had reached an agreement and feeling quite pleased that they'd made homeroom just as the bell had rung.

Quickly finding her seat and sitting down, Gabriella pulled out her notebook and schedule, unsure of what she had first period. When she found it, she nearly interrupted Miss Darbus, her dramatic homeroom teacher who most probably would have handed her a detention for making such a rude noise in the middle of her speaking, when she realized that she had PE first period. Great, Gabriella found herself thinking sarcastically, just something that she needed to get her mind off Troy Bolton, seeing his father, Coach Jack Bolton.

Frowning, Gabriella found it hard to pay any attention to Miss Darbus during homeroom. Unsure whether it was because she was annoyed that she had to go to gym or because she'd only just realized that Sharpay hadn't actually lost the argument, she stared out the window. Realizing as she thought back to her conversation with Sharpay that they were going to continue it at a later date, which meant at lunch, and that Sharpay would probably be backed up by Ryan and Kelsi. Who, in turn, were confusing Gabriella. She could swear they'd been holding hands that morning, but if they had, they hadn't wanted her and Sharpay to know. Which was strange. They'd told each other everything from the time they'd first met.

Gabriella smiled slightly as she thought about when they'd first met. They'd all been in grade two and Sharpay had decided that she and Ryan needed friends outside each other. That was when she'd told Gabriella that she was her new best friend and then turned to Kelsi, who was friends with a small Gabriella that she and Ryan were going to be best friends. It hadn't been the best way for Sharpay to make friends but at the same time, they'd become a group and had stayed that way through the rigors of primary, middle and now high school. All four of them held an understanding that was so solid that even when Sharpay had become the Ice Princess of East High, they'd stuck by her or when Ryan had become interested in baseball (a sport Sharpay found barbaric) they'd been there to cheer him on. It was a solid connection that couldn't be broken and right now, Gabriella couldn't understand why Kelsi and Ryan wouldn't share what was going on with them with her and Sharpay.

"Gabs? We have gym. You ready?" Gabriella jerked slightly at Kelsi's soft voice. Looking at he friend, she shook her head, clearing her thoughts and nodded.

"Yeah. I forgot my clothes though. Reckon Coach'll kill me?" She asked, standing up and joining the line filing out of the classroom. Kelsi shrugged slightly, smiling as they joined the throng of students heading in the direction of the gym.

"Nah. He likes you, remember? You're the 'responsible Montez'." Kelsi quoted and Gabriella laughed at the words. She'd forgotten Coach Bolton had disliked her sister with an intensity that had made it not safe to be around him whenever Katie was in the room.

"I totally forgot about that." Gabriella said and Kelsi giggled as they turned a corner and the throng of students thinned to their classmates.

"How could you? He always praised you for it. Especially in front of Troy. It was so funny when he did 'cause you'd go all red and Troy would cough and rub his neck." Kelsi teased her and Gabriella blushed slightly, nodding along at her own memories of Coach Bolton's disapproval of her sister.

"I think I used to get so embarrassed about it I just blocked out the painful memories of it." Gabriella said and Kelsi laughed as they pushed open the gym doors and headed for the wooden bleachers that surrounded the basketball courts.

"Gee, what a surprise." Kelsi taunted and Gabriella just shook her head, ignoring the girl and spying Coach Bolton standing at the far corner of the gym, talking rapidly to someone with their back to her.

"There's Coach. I'm going to go and tell him I forgot my uniform." Gabriella said, dumping her bag next to Kelsi. Kelsi nodded, pulling out a sheet of music paper and beginning to read over it.

Gabriella dodged the guys that were throwing around a rubber band ball, laughing slightly when one of them accidentally bumped into her. She waved to a girl she knew from her Chem class as she approached the coach. She could see that he was smiling, which was a good sign. It meant that maybe she was going to get into too much trouble for not having her gym gear. Gabriella came to a stop right behind the mystery man and waited patiently for the Coach to notice her.

"I need these copied for – yes, Miss Montez?" Coach Bolton interrupted himself when he noticed her. Gabriella smiled hesitantly at him, wondering why his eyes seemed to twinkle mischievously at her.

"Uh, I kind of forgot I had gym first. So I don't have my things here." Gabriella said and Coach Bolton just continued to look at her, his eyes twinkling in amusement. Gabriella was about to repeat herself, not sure if the coach had heard her and confused as to why he seemed so happy about it when the other person spoke.

"Now that's a disappointment, Brie. I was looking forward to seeing you run the track." Gabriella froze and her eyes widened as nineteen year old Troy Bolton turned around to grin down at her, apparently amused with her as she stared up at him.

For a moment, all Gabriella could do was stare up at Troy. Unsure whether or not he was there. He didn't look that different from when she had last seen him, maybe his hair was a little longer but he still had the same strong jaw, the careless hairstyle and blue, blue eyes. She watched as his mouth curved even further and Gabriella shook her head.

"Troy!" She suddenly squealed. He let out a surprised laugh as Gabriella launched herself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck in an exuberant hug that caught the attention of nearly everyone in the gym.

Gabriella bit her lip when she felt his strong arms encircle her waist, holding her suspended as he chuckled. Pulling away a bit, she grinned as she met his amused blue eyes.

"Hi Brie." He said when he saw her looking at him. Gabriella couldn't help but let her grin spread further across her face.

She felt even happier when she remembered that she'd managed to straighten her hair that morning too.

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A/N: I hope that wasn't too terrible for a first chapter. Remember, I want to keep it of similar length and style of 'Convincing You To Fall'. I don't want to go over nine chapters and I don't want to go into any drama (if any of you have been reading MTLFM, you'll understand why). So please, I hope you enjoyed it and I won't say I'll update soon but I hopefully won't leave you all hanging for a few weeks!


	2. So Getting Married

Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: So, I've come to a decision. I have decided that I'll update MTLFM on the weekends, when I have time to write out the chapters and read through them to make sure that it makes sense and that I will update YA during the week. The reason behind this is, in general, MTLFM takes longer to write out because the chapters are generally longer and also it's a lot more draining to write than the pure fluff that this story is going to be compromised of. So, that's how I'm going to try and work it, I think, too, that it'll give me time to do my homework at home. Also, I want to mention a reviewer who said it was so nice to see something without drama in it and I have to agree. Drama seems interesting until the entire story is made up of it. There has to be a balance in a story of nice quiet times and then explosive, shocking times. Besides, Drama is so much more fun to write. But fluff is easier. Anyway, sorry about that little rant, it's my opinion and all so please don't be offended by it. Enjoy the next chapter!

Oh, I only just found out them MTLFM got FFOTW on ZAANGELS! Thanks guys! I really appreciate it!

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_**Your Anything  
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**Chapter Two: So Getting Married  
**

_"Katie's what!?" Gabriella barely glanced over at Sharpay who looked as if her entire world had come to an end, upon hearing that Troy Bolton was, once again, taken. Instead, she kept her eyes on her locker, a pending disaster, and managed to pull out her World History folder without having the pending disaster explode._

_"Katie is Troy Bolton's new girlfriend. Believe me, I was shocked too," Gabriella said, shoving the folder into her bag and turning to Sharpay, who looked unusually pale. "But probably for a different reason." She concluded, trying not to giggle at Sharpay's face. _

_She hadn't really forgotten about Sharpay's epic crush on Troy. She had just chosen to ignore the fact that it existed. It was better to not acknowledge the crush unless you needed a run down on exactly who Troy Bolton was, what he looked like and why he and Sharpay were perfect for each other. Even though Gabriella was pretty sure that Troy had no idea that Sharpay, she still hadn't been able to stop herself from encouraging the unnaturally scary crush that Sharpay had acquire the first time she had seen Troy. _

_"Why is he with her? What does he see in her? Doesn't he know that I am so much better for him? Doesn't he know we're getting married? Doesn't he realize that Katie is a-" Gabriella cut Sharpay off with a sigh. Dodging students as the two headed for the car park. _

_"Narcissistic, arrogant, completely blind-" Sharpay cut Gabriella off before she could finish her sentence._

_"Whore." She stated and Gabriella's mouth dropped open as she pushed open the front doors and they both stepped out into blinding sunshine. Before she could even reprimand Sharpay for saying something that she had said to her sister on numerous occasions, Sharpay continued her rant._

_"Honestly, does she think he's going to marry her? I bet she does and I bet she's already got him thinking about it too." Sharpay said, pausing for breath. Gabriella's eyes had widened in alarm at Sharpay's train of thought and before the blonde could continue, she interrupted. _

_"Shar, they're seventeen and-" Gabriella jumped straight back into Troy Bolton as he spoke up from behind them, her folder she'd been holding to her chest crashed to the ground as Troy caught her waist. Gabriella tried to catch her breath and then couldn't help but blush as she realized why Katie had been bragging about how strong Troy's chest was the other night. _

_"Who's seventeen?" He asked curiously, looking down at her as Gabriella finally caught her breath and narrowed her eyes at him, ignoring the look that Sharpay was sending her. _

_"You." She shot at him sarcastically. "Did you really have to do that?" She snapped at him, wiggling slightly so he would let go of her. Troy chuckled slightly before sliding his arm from around her waist. _

_"Yep. I was curious. It's not every day you hear someone talk about a wedding right before the age of seventeen is mentioned." Troy grinned down at her and Gabriella couldn't help but huff slightly at his words. Bending down she picked up her folder, still ignoring the thoughtful look on Sharpay's face. _

_"What are you doing following me anyway?" She asked, straightening and glanced at Sharpay for the first time since Troy had appeared. Troy shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged slightly, his blue eyes studying her as if trying to gauge a reaction that she had yet to give._

_"Your sister asked me to drive me home." He replied and Gabriella blinked at his words. That had been what she had expected from him. Racking her brain, she wondered if Katie had tried to tell her that she couldn't give her a ride home at all during the day then she looked at Troy. _

_"Asked or told?" Gabriella asked suspiciously and Troy shrugged again as Sharpay's eyes lit up in sly delight. Gabriella pursed her lips, wondering if she should even bother to accept what Troy had said. It wasn't every day that Katie told one of her boyfriends to give her a ride home because she couldn't. Besides, Troy seemed like a nice enough guy, not counting his bad judgment in dating her sister. _

_"Does it matter?" His question broke Gabriella out of her thoughts and she shook her head mutely before sighing and nodding. _

_"Okay." Turning to Sharpay, Gabriella reached out to hug her blonde friend, purposely ignoring the long look Troy was giving her. Sharpay held onto her for a little longer than usual and Gabriella was about to ask why, when Sharpay spoke into her ear._

_"I take what I said back. You two are so going to get married." She sounded too pleased with herself and Gabriella snorted at her words. Rolling her eyes and not bothering to respond to Sharpay, Gabriella stepped away from the blonde and turned to look at Troy. _

_He wasn't looking at her anymore, instead his arms were folded and he seemed to be studying something that was beyond her eyesight. The faint breeze ruffled his hair slightly and Gabriella suddenly bit her lip as she looked at him, glancing back at Sharpay who was watching her smugly, Gabriella screwed up her nose and took a breath. She was not going to think about getting married to Troy Bolton when Sharpay looked so smug about it. _

Gabriella grinned slightly at the memory as she slowly placed her books into her locker and pulled out her bag. She had been so determined to not think about what Sharpay had said that she had spent the entire car ride thinking about it and trying to not seem like she was bored with her conversation with Troy, until she had accidentally blurted out what Sharpay had said when he'd asked what she'd been thinking about. She had spent the rest of the car ride in a mortified silence that had held until a week later when Troy had made another attempt at getting to know her. She hadn't known at the time, but Troy had thought what she had said was hilarious and had spent the rest of the car ride laughing silently.

Gabriella was just hoping that this time when she drove home with him, she wouldn't blurt out something like that.

Gabriella felt the excited smirk she'd been fighting ever since she had walked out from the cafeteria pull again at her lips as she thought about how Troy had come to find her during lunch. She hadn't told him too and he had informed her that his dad had sent him after seeing their 'heartfelt reunion', which, Troy had said, were his father's words. Gabriella had burst into laughter and agreed when he'd asked her if he could give her a ride home. She knew that meant they were going to drive around Albuquerque and talk for as long as they could, without arousing the suspicion of anyone they knew. A trick they had learnt when he and Katie had broken up.

"Oh my God, Kelsi wasn't lying." Sharpay's incredulous voice caused Gabriella to jump and, as she spun to face her friend, Gabriella fought the smile on her face. She was sure she had a guilty expression on her face when she met Sharpay's eyes.

"Kelsi was right about what?" Gabriella attempted to keep her tone neutral and knew she had failed miserable when Sharpay arched a delicate eyebrow and looked at her as if wondering whether she should try and see through the tone.

"You. You're actually glowing. What did you guys do? Have sex in the janitors closest at lunch?" Sharpay asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively and Gabriella blushed at the words. Not quite believe that Sharpay could have been that blunt.

"No! Sharpay! Why the hell would you say that?" Her attempt at keeping her voice down failed miserably as two freshmen shot her terrified looks as they walked past. Sharpay grinned delightedly at her words, giving Gabriella the impression that she had planned for her to respond like that.

"Isn't it ironic that just this morning we were telling you to forget him and he shows up?" Sharpay asked and Gabriella rolled her eyes, slinging her bag over her shoulder and slamming her locker shut.

"No. Its coincidence. Irony would be Troy calling me and telling me he was coming back only for me to leave the day he got here." Gabriella stated and Sharpay rolled her eyes. Gabriella folded her arms and glanced at Sharpay, waiting for her reply.

"Who cares? What I'm saying is you kicked up a stir today in gym when you practically threw yourself into his arms. People are talking." Sharpay said and Gabriella snorted loudly at her words.

"Let me guess, I'm a ho who is backstabbing her sister by hugging her sisters ex-boyfriend." Gabriella said blandly, not bothered by what she had just said. Sharpay laughed slightly at her words, shaking her head.

"No. They're all saying it's like something out of a fairytale. The prince leaving just as they're feelings were realized and coming back only for them both to fall deeper in love." Sharpay said it lightly but, as Gabriella glanced back at her, she could tell that Sharpay was the one that had come up with the rumor. Deciding to ignore it, she turned around to face Sharpay, who was watching her, apparently waiting desperately for her reply.

"Why not tell them that the prince came back and he and the princess screwed in the janitors closest before revealing their long lost love to each other and then riding off into the sunset in search of a bed?" She asked sarcastically and Sharpay's mouth dropped open as Gabriella burst into laughter and turned around, waving at Sharpay as her blonde friend struggled to recover from her comment.

"Yeah and then got married like the princess's best friend said!" Gabriella choked on her laughter at Sharpay's parting shot. How the hell had Sharpay remembered that? Gabriella glanced back only to find Sharpay had been swallowed by the crowd.

Shaking her head, Gabriella pushed open the door and couldn't stop the butterflies at the thought of being alone with Troy again. It didn't matter that when he'd been with her sister they had spent an immeasurable amount of time alone or that after he and Katie had broken up, she had taken to going over to the his place just so she could see him. Gabriella smiled slightly at the thought; she had spent so much time at the Bolton's during and after Troy and Katie's relationship that Jack and Diane Bolton had taken to assuming that she would be having dinner with them whenever she was over.

But it was different this time. She hadn't seen him in nearly a year and Gabriella was pretty sure that having not seen him would...Gabriella lost her train of thought as she turned a corner and was greeted with the sight of a very shirtless Troy Bolton.

Her breath backed up in her lungs and her mouth went dry as Gabriella stared at the sight in front of her. Her eyes tracing the tantalizing trail of hair that ran from his belly button down before shifting upwards and over the six-pack that looked like it had been carved by a master sculptor before losing any coherent thought at the incredibly defined pectorals that completed his chest. Gabriella moved forward slowly, trying to pull her eyes away from his chest and knowing that she was failing miserably as she took another step forward.

Was his chest meant to be that mesmerizing?

"Well, well, look who it is." Troy's teasing voice broke through her intense concentration on his chest and Gabriella glanced up, startled at his words. Blinking in shock, she stared at him for a minute and then frowned slightly.

"What's with that? I'm not that late, am I?" She asked curiously, Troy leaned back against the car, apparently comfortable with the fact that he was half-naked in the teacher's parking lot.

Gabriella lost her breath again as she took in the picture he made. Brown hair streaked with gold swept across his forehead, his eyes were covered by aviators and his lips were tilted upwards in a shadow of a smirk, combined with his lack of clothing, he looked…sexy. Confident. Gorgeous. Untouched.

"No. But I know you were talking to Sharpay." He replied and Gabriella shook her head, blinking slightly as she tried to dispel the image of Troy in her mind. It didn't help that the image she had of him, was so much worse than what he looked like.

"Yep. Can you put on a shirt before you blind someone please?" Gabriella really didn't know if the question was a plea for her sanity or because she could see a group of girls forming at the corner she had been standing at minutes before.

Troy grinned at her and the picture he made heated up as he went from sexy and untouched to approachable and dazzling.

"Why? I've been back a day and your already getting possessive." Troy teased her and Gabriella refused to let a smile pull at her lips.

"Because Miss Darbus is heading over here and unless you want a lecture on the etiquette of car parks, I suggest we leave. Now." Gabriella replied with a straight face and Troy's grin immediately fell upon hearing the mention of his old homeroom teacher and the resident drama teacher who had lived in an age where men were only shirtless in the bedroom and took respectable girls out only after gaining permission from the girl's parents.

The haze that had descended on her broke completely as she watched Troy's color drain and his hand fumble for the door handle of the driver's door. Trying to hold back giggles, Gabriella watched the confident, sexy guy disappear as Troy half fell into the driver's seat, his aviators sliding down his nose and his elbow flying into the car horn. As the horn blasted through the car park, Gabriella couldn't help herself.

She collapsed into giggles.

"Oh…my God…you…should…" Gabriella tried to speak before doubling over in laughter again at the look of pure shock on Troy's face. That had to be the funniest thing she had ever seen happen to someone who acted as cool and collected as Troy did.

Gabriella clutched her stomach as her stomach started to hurt from laughing so hard. She knew that Troy had recollected himself and was now sitting in the driver's seat, watching her laugh with a goofy grin on his face.

"Okay, so you got me. Darbus isn't coming, is she?" Troy asked. Gabriella looked up, standing up straight and gasping for air as she met Troy's gaze. Wiping her eyes, a stray giggle leaving her mouth followed by a hiccup, she shook her head.

"No. But that was the funniest thing I think I've ever seen you do. Including the time when you were drunk and tried to tell me that your parent's house was California." Gabriella replied and Troy laughed, pushing his aviators up on top of his head and studying her.

Gabriella waited for him to speak and shifted uncomfortably when all he did was continue to stare at her, almost as if he was examining her from head to toe. Absently, she reached up and touched her hair, which had begun to curl slightly from the intense thunderstorm they'd encountered during lunch.

"What?" She asked, smiling slightly in an attempt to ease her discomfort and make Troy stop staring at her. It worked, a grin worked its way across his face as he looked at her.

"McDonalds?" He asked slowly. Gabriella screwed up her face, trying not to acknowledge the butterflies that had turned into bats in her stomach, and pretended to think about.

"Only if you promise to put a shirt on." She replied teasingly after a moment. Troy shook nodded his head and pulled his aviators down over his eyes again. Gabriella grinned and rounded the car, sliding into the passenger's seat and glancing across at Troy, who turned his head to grin at her.

Gabriella grinned back and knew that it was going to be a fun trip to McDonalds.

* * *

"You're trying to kill me!" She exclaimed twenty minutes later when Troy pulled into a parking space right next to the entrance to McDonalds. He chuckled at her accusation and Gabriella narrowed her eyes at him, not impressed with his lack of concern.

"I am not. Just because you scream when I go fast does not mean I am trying to kill you." He said and Gabriella rolled her eyes, pushing open the door and getting out of the car.

She chose to ignore Troy as he leisurely got out of the car and shut the door, locking it before swinging the keys around his forefinger and following her into the restaurant. Gabriella ignored the cold blast of air coupled with the smell of frying foods that hit her the moment she stepped into McDonalds, her eyes swept around and she offered a smile to some of the people from her school before walking to a table and sitting down, with her arms folded.

"You do realize that a waitress isn't going to come over and take your order, right?" Troy asked curiously and Gabriella frowned up at him, causing him to laugh again.

"You do realize that I _know_ you were trying to kill me, right?" She asked and this time Troy didn't laugh, although his chest did jerk, giving Gabriella the impression that he had attempted to smother the laugh before it could escape. Silence followed her question before Troy had apparently regained enough control of himself to speak to her.

"What if I get you a Crunchie McFlurry and you forgive me for my imagined attempt on your life?" The grin he sent her was designed to charm and Gabriella wasn't sure if it was the grin, the twinkle of amusement in his eyes or the fact that he remembered what her favorite McDonald's food was that made her melt but she did know that it worked.

"Okay. As long as you don't buy a mound of food that I have to help you eat." She added as an afterthought and Troy laughed, backing away slightly.

"Was that a suggestion Miss Montez?" He asked and Gabriella shrugged, resting her chin in her hand and tapping her fingers against it as she watched him.

"Well, if you insist it was Mr Bolton." Gabriella teased and Troy shook his head before turning and heading to the counter to order the food. Gabriella watched him for a moment and was glad that he'd pulled a shirt on when they'd stopped at a traffic light. It had been hard keeping a conversation with him when her eyes kept straying to his body.

Absently, Gabriella glanced out the window and nearly fell off her chair in shock. Ryan and Kelsi, both who she hadn't seen at lunch, were sitting on the outdoor benches, a Sundae between them, their heads bent together, apparently whispering to each other. Staring at them, Gabriella couldn't decide whether she was shocked at seeing them together without her and Sharpay or curious about what exactly they were doing together, sitting so close it suggested a relationship that wasn't just platonic. Narrowing her eyes slightly, Gabriella shifted closer to the window, wondering when Ryan and Kelsi had decided to hold hands and bend their heads close together when a tray was set down in front of her.

"Food!" Troy announced loudly and Gabriella burst into laughter at the childish look on his face as he sat down opposite her and offered her a drink.

Gabriella looked at the food on the tray and grinned slightly as she saw her McFlurry, as well as two large chips, two burgers and two drinks. One of which Troy offered her. Gabriella took it gratefully and took a sip, making a face as the fizz of the coke burnt her throat before she glanced back outside at Ryan and Kelsi.

"Troy, what do you think of them?" She asked, nodding towards Ryan and Kelsi as Troy opened his burger and took a bite. Gabriella leaned back in her chair as Troy glanced over at them and then swallowed.

"What'd you mean?" He asked and Gabriella took another sip of her drink before replying.

"Do you reckon they're just friends? Or do you reckon they're together?" She asked and Troy glanced at them again, studying Ryan and Kelsi a little bit more thoroughly now before he turned his attention back to Gabriella.

"They're together." Troy stated blandly and took another bite. "Why?" He asked after he had swallowed. Gabriella shrugged.

"Remember Ryan and Kelsi?" She asked and Troy rolled his eyes. Leaning back in his chair, drink in hand.

"How could I forget? The two most oblivious people on the planet." Troy stated and Gabriella giggled at his words, knowing that she shouldn't agree but couldn't help but nodding at his words.

"Yep. That's them." She nodded out the window and smiled when Troy's eyes widened in surprise before her glanced out the window again.

"Theatre Boy and Piano Girl? Seriously? Last time I saw them, Theatre Boy wouldn't go any where near her. It was like she had rabies or something." Troy said incredulously and Gabriella nearly spat out her mouthful of chips at his words. She knew her face was red when she swallowed the mouthful quickly and took a sip of coke to make sure it all went down.

"When did you name them Theatre Boy and Piano Girl? And why do they sound like lame superhero names?" Gabriella asked and Troy shrugged, glancing back at them before returning his full attention to Gabriella.

"When I first met them. You forgot to introduce us and I nicknamed them in case I ever forgot about them. It stuck. And they sound like lame superhero names because I wasn't feeling very imaginative that day." Troy sounded defensive and Gabriella shook her head, laughing a little at his words. Instead of pushing the subject further, she decided to change it.

"So, tell me, what brought you all the way back to Albuquerque? I thought you still had a couple more weeks of term before the summer holidays." She asked and Troy, who was on his second burger, shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, I finished my finals a couple of weeks ago and my professors all kind of said that there was no point in introducing new material because we weren't going to concentrate. So I came home." Troy said and, as he spoke, Gabriella could help but feel like there was something more to his answer. For a moment, she wanted to ask what it was and then decided against it, not sure if he would tell her or not.

"Huh. How's basketball?" She asked curiously, suddenly remembered Troy had gotten in Berkeley on a scholarship. Troy wrinkled his nose slightly at her question, giving Gabriella the impression that it wasn't a welcome subject.

"It's okay. I miss playing around on the streets though. Remember when we used to go to that old court in the park down from my house? I miss that and having it so serious all the time is kind of…boring." Gabriella took a sip of her drink at his admission, unsure how she was meant to respond to that. Studying him under her eyelashes, she realized that he was being serious; he really did miss playing the game without the pressure. Setting her drink down, she tried to think of something that would make him smile. He looked so serious. She hadn't expected their first real conversation in nearly a year to become so serious, so quickly.

"I missed you." And that, Gabriella thought, was probably the worst thing she could have said.

Troy's eyes immediately flicked to her face from the spot on the floor he had been staring at and Gabriella went bright red at the surprise and shock in them. For a moment, he didn't say anything, just stared at her as if he was trying to figure out what she had said.

"Good. 'Cause I missed you too." His reply was quiet and Gabriella went even redder at the words. It was one thing for her to miss him but for him to reciprocate that, for him to miss her too reminded Gabriella of the friendship that they had shared before he had left for California.

Before either of them could say anything, they both heard the door slide open and Gabriella glance back automatically, always curious to see if it was someone she knew. Her mouth dropped open when she saw Kelsi and Ryan walk in, their hands quite possibly intertwined. She heard Troy's chuckle and turned to face him as he raised his hand in greeting.

"Hey Kelsi, hey Ryan." He called out and Gabriella turned in time to see the two exchange nervous glances before stepping over to where she and Troy sat. Gabriella smiled brightly up at them, her eyes barely demanding an explanation for their appearance.

"Hey Troy, Gabs. What's up?" Ryan spoke easily but Gabriella knew him well enough and had known him for so long to know that he was nervous about something. Before she could reply, Troy spoke up again.

"Not much. Catching up really. Where's Sharpay?" Troy asked and Gabriella's head snapped around to stare at him. Troy glanced at her and grinned slightly, his eyebrows rising slightly as he gave her a questioning look.

"Uh. She's at home. You know, she had homework." Ryan said and Kelsi nodded. Gabriella couldn't help but snort.

"Ry, when has Sharpay ever done homework when she's known that you were going to her favorite guilty pleasure?" Gabriella asked and tried not to kick Troy when he snorted softly. Ryan's eyes flickered and Gabriella knew that she had caught him out when Kelsi spoke up.

"We have to go. I need to get home." Kelsi said, tugging on Ryan's arm slightly. Before Ryan could reply, she wave at Troy and Gabriella. "Bye Troy, bye Gabi." Gabriella waved vaguely as she watched her two best friends exit McDonalds as quickly as they'd come in. Troy chuckled softly, leaning on his forearms as Gabriella turned back to him.

"Remember the day Sharpay found out I was dating your sister?" He asked and Gabriella nodded, "do you remember what she said to you? About how we were so getting married?" He asked again and Gabriella nodded, still feeling slightly embarrassed about that day.

"How could I forget it?" She asked and Troy shrugged.

"Who knows? But I think she better take what she said about us back," Troy said, taking another sip of his drink.

"Why?" Gabriella asked, not seeing where he was going with this. Troy laughed again, holding her gaze with amused blue eyes and a cheeky smirk.

"Because those two are so getting married." Troy said and Gabriella couldn't help herself. She burst into laughter for the second time that day. Covering her mouth with her hand, Gabriella met Troy's sparkling blue eyes and couldn't help but feel something. Something that she had buried a long time ago.

Something that had been lying in dormant for three years and was beginning to wake up now that he was back.

* * *

A/N: While I would love to say I am fond of this chapter. I can't help but feel it seems messy. Although, I did have fun writing the last part with Troy talking to Ryan and Kelsi. Ah yes, more explanation to come especially with Katie and Troy! I hope you enjoyed, even though it doesn't feel that great to me!


	3. Remedying the Situation

Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: Okay, so I was going to update this last week and I ended up not because there were so many other things that I needed to do and it just got pushed to the bottom of my list and sitting down to write always ended with me falling asleep because I'm not sleeping enough and…basically I just can't wait until school is over! I have two weeks left and then basically two months of doing close to nothing. Which is so good in my book! Anyway, please enjoy this next chapter and I will be revealing the Katie factor in the next chapter, probably. So please enjoy!

* * *

_**Your Anything**_

**Chapter Three: Remedying the Title.**

_Jack and Diane Bolton heard squealing coming from the front of their house and, for a brief second, were worried that something was being strangled brutally on their front lawn. Then they heard the indignant shout of 'Troy!' and knew that their son and his new girlfriend had arrived safely. Exchanging a glance at the faint giggle that was coming from inside the house, both Jack and Diane chose to return to their respective occupations of setting the outdoor table and cooking on the barbeque, knowing that Troy would make an appearance when he felt like it._

_"No way! Why would you do that?" They glanced back at the loud exclamation and both watched as their son and a girl they both assumed was his girlfriend tumbled through their backdoor, falling into each other in fits of laughter. _

_"B-because…I honestly thought that s-she…meant that!" Troy stuttered and the girl grabbed his arm to keep from falling down as they both tried to get down the two steps that led to the backyard without falling down._

_"Oh my God, you're such an idiot!" Jack and Diane exchanged another glance as the girl slapped Troy's arm and attempted to stand up straight. _

_Jack and Diane watched as she wiped her eyes, which then widened as she saw that they were being watched. Coughing she nudged Troy, whose own eyes widened as his parents both smiled at him, almost indulgently, before Diane stepped over to them, offering the girl her hand. Dianne watched as the girl cast Troy a bewildered glance before accepting her hand._

_"It's lovely to meet you dear, I'm Diane." Diane smiled delightedly as the girl shook her hand and smiled._

_"Hi. I'm Gabriella. Katie's sister." Diane smiled and nodded, confused by the sister part. She exchanged a glance with Jack, whose eyebrows were furrowed, weren't they meeting Troy's girlfriend?_

_Troy saw the look and blushed. They'd thought Gabriella was his girlfriend, which meant he had to try and make his explanation for why Gabriella was there and Katie wasn't short, simple and not awkward._

_"Mom, uh, Katie's…coming. She got held up at her Cheer practice. Hence Gabriella being here." Troy chose to ignore the way Gabriella raised her eyebrows at him. Diane glanced at her husband, who simply shrugged and returned to turning the sausages._

_"Oh. Well, hello Gabriella. Will you be staying for dinner tonight?" She asked politely and chose to ignore the questioning look Gabriella threw at Troy. Troy shoved his hands deep into his pockets and wondered how, exactly, his girlfriend would react if her younger sister did indeed join them for dinner. _

_He looked at Gabriella and then decided it was worth the risk. _

_"Yeah. She will. Your mom's away right?" Troy asked, turning his eyes to Gabriella who looked shocked for a millisecond before her eyes lit up innocently._

_"Yes. She is away. I'm sure Katie won't mind." Gabriella nodded and Troy chose to ignore the sarcasm that tinged her voice as she spoke. _

_Smiling at his mother, who was examining him closely, Troy chose to ignore the fact that his stomach had completed a funny turn when Gabriella had agreed to stay for dinner. Instead, concentrating on how he was going to tell his girlfriend how her little sister ended up with him and having dinner with his family. _

Troy noted absently that that episode was one of the least cringe worthy of all the memories he had of his parents with Katie and Gabriella. If he could remember it correctly, he and Gabriella had both partially forgotten about Katie that night and had been rudely reminded of her when she had arrived at his place two hours after they'd sat down to dinner and nearly thrown a fit at seeing Gabriella sitting next to him where, she had pointed out to him furiously later, she was meant to be sitting.

Troy had chosen to avoid letting Katie know that her sister was perhaps the coolest person he'd ever met and his parents had both gotten along with her like a house on fire.

He hadn't thought she could have taken that as well as she had when his parents had chosen to quiz her about her younger sister the next time they'd met.

Turning into his driveway, Troy knew that he was going to be bombarded with questions the moment he stepped through the door. His father would have told his mother he had not only spent an entire gym session talking to Gabriella but had spent the afternoon with her as well and as much as he loved his parents, he was reluctant to talk to them about Gabriella.

He wanted to keep what had happened that afternoon to himself a little longer.

Sure his parents would find out eventually, but Troy wasn't willing to provide them with how he had accidentally thrown a pickle at her forehead and nearly killed himself laughing at the shocked look on her face or how she had replied by smearing ice-cream across his cheek and giggling as he'd nearly yelled at how cold it was.

He definitely wasn't willing to tell them that she'd missed him.

That, Troy mused absently, as he sat in the car and stared at the back of his mothers Toyota, had probably been the highlight of his afternoon. Not counting when he'd managed to embarrass Theatre Boy and Piano Girl. Just knowing that she'd missed him had reminded him of how many times he'd sat on his bed, staring at her number and trying to summon the courage to hit the green button and how many times he'd opened up a new email and ended up typing nothing because he couldn't think of anything relevant to say to her. When his emails to all his other friends had been full of what he had been doing.

Just trying to type an email to her had made his chest tighten significantly because he'd been so sure she'd forgotten all about him and any feelings he may have imagined he'd seen in her eyes before he'd left, would have faded into the background as soon as she'd gotten back to school.

It had given him some bad moments in the middle of the night until he had reminded himself that they had been _just friends_.

Which was something that had to be remedied this summer.

At the thought, Troy found it lucky that he was sitting in an unmoving car because he knew if he'd had that thought a little more than five minutes ago, he would have jerked the steering wheel so hard he would have ended up in the gutter and totaled his fathers car.

Remedying his and Gabriella's situation? Why was he thinking like that? He wasn't going to deny that he had missed Gabriella or that part of his reason for coming home early _may _have had something to do with her but…remedying their situation? He didn't even know if she felt anything for him. He didn't even know what _he_ felt for her. Which was probably why remedying what they were to each other was confusing. Besides, it would be complicated if Katie found out that her ex-boyfriend and little sister had a thing going. Even though Troy was sure that she wouldn't care as much as she had when she was still living with Gabriella.

With a groan, Troy chose to get out of the car before he drove himself crazy thinking about how he was going to remedy his and Gabriella's situation.

Pulling out the car key and opening his door, Troy chose to leave everything in the car and get it later. He got out and headed for the front door, surprised when it swung open before he could even step up onto the front porch. Raising his eyebrows, Troy stopped on the step and wondered why his mother looked halfway between mutinous and ecstatic. He had a feeling she was mutinous because there was a large chance he'd missed dinner and that wasn't something that his mother generally accepted. But the ecstasy on her face? Well, that had him stumped.

"Troy Alexander Bolton did you forget to call and tell me you weren't going to home for dinner?" Diane snapped and Troy found that he wasn't in the mood to cower under the formidable tone of the woman who raised him. So he grinned at his mother and shrugged.

"Yep. That and my cells on charge in my room. Sorry." Troy shrugged, stepping up onto the porch and grinning down at his mother.

Diane narrowed her eyes at her sons tone, apparently not pleased with his tone of voice.

"Hmm. How's Gabriella?" She asked and the ecstatic part clunked into place. His mother had always liked Gabriella and had voiced, at times when he was going out with Katie that she was a much better match for him than her older sister.

"She's good." Troy replied and Diane's eyes softened slightly, giving Troy the impression that the question was asked to make sure he really was with Gabriella and not with anyone else.

"Well…you should invite her over for dinner." The suggestion threw Troy for a minute and it took him a minute to form a response to his mother's proposal. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he decided to take a stab at why she had made the suggestion.

"Mom, don't try and set us up." He was surprised when Diane rolled her eyes at the words. The exasperation in her face gave Troy the impression that she thought he was clueless about something.

"Oh honey, you and Gabriella have set yourselves up since you walked into our backyard laughing your heads off." Diane said dismissively and Troy's mouth dropped open at the words.

"Mom! Seriously, I haven't seen her in a year! What's with the prediction?" Troy exclaimed and Diane laughed at him, patting his cheek in a way that reminded him of a time when he was a little boy and she'd known something he'd done that he had been sure he'd managed to hide.

"Oh Troy, you are clueless sometimes. Whatever was between you and Gabriella when you were seventeen and she was fifteen, isn't going to disappear after not talking to her for a year. Now, if you two have already have dinner, go get your phone and call her to see if she wants to come over for some dessert." Diane ordered and the tone of her voice warned Troy not to argue with her unless he wanted _her_ to ring Gabriella and invite her over. Truthfully, Troy wasn't sure which would be more embarrassing his mother calling her or his mother repeating what she had said to him to Gabriella.

"Fine, fine. Damn Mom, who died and made you God?" He mumbled under his breath as he brushed past her. He didn't realize she'd heard him until he felt her swipe at the back of his head.

Hunching his shoulders, Troy practically ran to his room, ignoring the strange look he received from his father, who was standing in the kitchen doorway. Reaching his room, Troy glanced back to see his parents watching him. Rolling his eyes, Troy stepped into his room and grabbed his phone off the desk that was the cleanest it had ever been in his life.

Flopping on his bed, he scrolled through the contacts and prayed that Gabriella hadn't changed her number since he'd left. Holding the phone to his ear, he examined the ceiling and frowned at the spot of brown on the white roof. How on earth had it gotten there?

"Missing me already?" Gabriella's sweet voice floated through his phone and Troy grinned at the teasing note in her voice.

"You bet. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since I dropped you off." Troy teased, purposefully not reminding himself that in all actuality, she _hadn't_ left his mind since he'd dropped her off.

"Oh really? Well, well, well, I never thought I'd hear that." Troy frowned at the shade of disbelief in her voice.

"Uh-huh. Anyway, mom told me to call and invite you over for dessert. Seeing she thinks we've already eaten dinner." Troy added as an afterthought. Gabriella giggled and Troy grinned, wishing he could see her giggling instead of just hearing it.

"Ooh. Sounds fun. What's for dessert?" Gabriella asked and Troy made a noncommittal sound.

"I have absolutely no idea. Probably something to do with chocolate. You know what my moms like." Troy said and then wondered how Gabriella was going to respond to his comment. It was something that he hadn't said to a lot of people before, seeing as he had never introduced a lot of people to his mother or that his mother had liked the many people he had been introduced her to.

"Yeah. I do, actually. Anyway, what time should I come over? 'Cause mom'll want to talk to me." Gabriella asked and Troy shrugged before he realized that Gabriella couldn't see him. Glancing at his closed door, Troy decided that he didn't _really_ want to go out and ask his mother what time she should come over.

"Uh…half an hour? Its six-thirty now so lets say seven." Troy said and could just see the thoughtful look on Gabriella's face as she thought over his suggestion.

"Okay. That works. Um, I'll guess I'll see you in half an hour." Gabriella said quietly and Troy was about to speak when she spoke again. "You still live in the same place right?" Her worried voice caused him to chuckle and he swallowed another one when she let out an indignant breath.

"Yes Gabriella. Same place. Maybe the house is a different color but I'm pretty sure they didn't pick it up and move it to another street while I was at college." Troy said and Gabriella giggled again.

"Whatever Troy. I'll see you in half an hour, okay?" She asked and Troy laughed again, wondering how he could laugh more in one day than he had in a year.

"Sure. Can't wait." He added teasingly and could just imagine her blushing on the other end of the line.

"Me neither." She admitted softly and hung up before Troy could say anything more.

Troy lifted the phone away from his ear and stared at the screen, which was still alight with the last call.

Had he just been imagining the intimacy in her tone? The way she had said that made Troy wonder if he was being too quick to assume that Gabriella didn't have any feelings for him. Because the way she had said that made him really wonder if remedying their status of just friends would be as hard as he had first thought.

* * *

He told himself that he had changed because his other clothes had held a funny smell. So what if he had changed into a better, cleaner pair of jeans and a collared shirt that hadn't been found scrunched up at the bottom of his bag. The fresh clothes, shower and cologne had nothing to do with the fact that Gabriella was coming over. It just made him feel better to feel cleaner.

So his parents could stop exchanging amused glances.

"You know, I am completely aware of what you two are doing." Troy commented carelessly, not glancing up from the newspaper he'd been reading since he had come back downstairs from his shower.

His parent sputtered for a second and despite his internal insistence that he had showered and changed for Gabriella, Troy couldn't help but feel proud at being able to read his parents reaction to it.

"We weren't. We were just…" Jack trailed off, glancing at his wife who seemed unable to fill in the blank with a reasonable excuse. Troy chose to do that himself.

"Planning ways to excuse yourself when Gabriella gets here, so you can listen in on our conversation in the hope that we declare our undying love for each other." Troy stated and was curious to see the blush that spread across his mothers face at his words. "Honestly, you two, its not going to happen!" Troy exclaimed and was surprised when his mother huffed and folded her arms.

"Why not?" Diane asked and Troy looked at her incredulously, as if trying to find the mature woman who he'd lived with his entire life instead of this very strange teenager persona.

"Because we're friends. Because I've been back for a day and haven't spoken to her in a year," Troy was interrupted by the doorbell and rose from his seat, heading out of the kitchen. "And because I used to date her sister." He threw over his shoulder as he stepped out of the kitchen.

The doorbell rang again as Troy approached the front door. Reaching out he grasped the doorknob and swung the door open, grinning at Gabriella who looked startled for a moment before grinning back at him.

"Well, well, look who it is. Can't get enough of me, Montez?" Troy asked teasingly and Gabriella narrowed her eyes at the tone before shrugging.

"Keep dreaming Bolton. I came here for the chocolaty goodness of some of your mothers desserts." She shot back good-naturedly and Troy held back laugh.

"Oh and, let me guess, the stimulating conversation provided by both my parents as well, right?" Troy asked, his eyes twinkling in amusement as Gabriella shrugged, pretending to think it over before nodding enthusiastically.

"Oh definitely." She said sarcastically and Troy laughed, stepping back and gesturing with his hand.

Gabriella grinned and stepped into the house. As she brushed past him, Troy inhaled and was overwhelmed by her scent of vanilla and something unique, which seemed to be just Gabriella. It went to his head and Troy allowed it to swirl before he very carefully took how it smelt and tucked it away into a corner of his mind, to remember when he had nothing else to do.

"You had a shower." Gabriella's observation stunned him for a moment as he closed the door. Deciding to treat it lightly while wondering why it was such a big deal that he'd had a shower, Troy shrugged.

"Yep. I smelt of McDonalds and sweat when I got home. It didn't suit me." Troy said and Gabriella raised her eyebrows, as if trying to decide whether or not to believe him.

"What do you smell like now?" She inquired curiously. A slow, male smile worked its way across Troy's face and he moved his shoulders lazily.

"Why don't you tell me?" He offered, not bothering to wonder how she was going to react to the offer.

Gabriella hesitated for a second. Just a second. Before she stepped closer to him. Troy forced himself not to hold his breath when he felt her breath on his neck and her nose brushing across his cheek as she breathed him in, much the same way he had not ten seconds before. He lowered his gaze from the wall to her ebony one and held it as she smiled at him.

"You smell really good." Her voice was just above a whisper and the husky timbre of it sent something reeling somewhere in his midsection. For a second, one tiny mad second, Troy found himself wanting to remedy the 'just friends' label desperately. By kissing her senseless.

Before he could act on the impulse, or Gabriella could say anything more, they both heard his mother call out from the kitchen.

"Is that you Gabriella?" Diane appeared just as they pulled apart, Gabriella greeting his mother nervously and Troy rubbing the back of his neck as if they'd been caught doing something dire.

"Yeah. Hi Diane." Gabriella greeted his mother easily and, as he watched his mother hold her arms out to Gabriella wanting a hug, Troy wondered why Gabriella was the only girl he'd ever brought home to meet his parents that was allowed to call them by their first names and enjoy a warm greeting.

"Its wonderful to see you. How have you been?" Troy watched amusedly as Gabriella was led into the kitchen. Deciding he could let his parents monopolize her for a little while, Troy followed the two and fought the grin that wanted to spread as he watched her greet his father and then be seated at the kitchen table, a plate of his mothers Mud Cake placed in front of her with a fork.

Walking in, Troy settled himself in the seat beside her and accepted the cake his mother offered him, watching as both his mother and father asked questions which Gabriella answered politely. He liked her voice; there was a lilt to it that was almost musical. He hadn't realized that he'd missed hearing her talk almost as much as he had missed everything else. Gabriella was probably the only girl he had ever met that he could sit and listen too without the need for interrupting her or steering the conversation in a different direction.

It was something he needed to add to his growing list of everything he had missed about her.

Troy came back to reality at the lull in the conversation that had flowed between his parents and Gabriella. Looking up from the half eaten cake, Troy decided that Gabriella had been monopolized enough and chose to speak up.

"Hey, you want to go out back? Its warm enough." Troy asked and Gabriella's eyes lit up at the suggestion. Nodding, she picked up her plate and stood up.

"Send a search party if were not back in an hour." Troy told his parents, standing up and opening the door that led to the backyard. Gabriella stifled a giggle as she ducked around him and stepped out into the warm Albuquerque night.

Troy followed her, shutting the door in his parent's delighted faces. Following her, Troy grinned as she sat crosslegged on the half court that was the main feature of the Bolton backyard. Following suit, Troy settled himself opposite her and watched as she dug her fork into the cake and popped some of it into her mouth.

"Yum. Your mom really knows how to make cake, Troy." She said as soon as she'd swallowed. Troy laughed, taking a bite of his own cake and shrugging.

"Yep. I think her chocolate obsession began when I started playing basketball and she'd thought she'd lost the chance to turn her son into something that she wanted." Troy said good-naturedly and Gabriella laughed, though her eyes were alight with curiosity.

"Really? Your mom didn't influence you at all?" She asked and Troy made a face before shaking his head.

"Nah. She did. I am studying psychology, which gave her some relief. Especially when it was one of my best grades." Troy said and Gabriella raised her eyebrows, unable to believe that Troy was seriously taking psychology and doing well at it.

"I honestly wouldn't have picked you for psychology. Sociology maybe. Psychology? Never." Gabriella said and Troy nodded his head in agreement with her words.

"I know, right? But its really fascinating. Especially with all the Freudian theory thrown in. The man was an odd genius." Troy said and Gabriella furrowed her brow. She didn't understand how Sigmund Freud was an odd genius. A genius definitely, he had, after all, revolutionized psychology. But odd, Gabriella didn't know enough about Freud to make that judgment.

"How was he odd?" She asked and Troy paused midway through his chewing, shrugging slightly.

"His Oedipus Complex is just…never mind. I'll explain later. But his recognition of the subconscious and his steadfast belief in id, ego and superego is fascinating." Troy said and Gabriella nodded, pretending that she knew exactly what he was talking about.

Silence fell between them as Troy watched Gabriella; not being able to ignore the way the moonlight bounced off her hair, enchanting it with a blue hue that made Troy want to touch it so much it was an ache.

"Hey? Can I ask a question?" Gabriella asked hesitantly and Troy grinned at her, placing his now finished cake on the ground next to him.

"You just did." He pointed out and Gabriella glared at him playfully before putting her plate down as well and playing with her fingers.

"Whatever. I'm going to ask anyway." Gabriella said and Troy nodded, holding back a chuckle. "What happened between you and Katie? You never told me and of course she wouldn't. But nobody could figure out what happened." Gabriella asked and Troy started when he heard the question. He gazed at her wondering how long she'd been thinking about it before wondering how the hell he was meant to tell her that the break-up had really occurred because of her.

"We just…I don't know. There were different factors I guess. We'd been together for a year, which was a record for your sister and we were both feeling the pressure of being the 'golden couple' so to speak. Not to mention she thought senior year would be so much better if we weren't tied to each other." Troy said, purposefully leaving out the part where his feelings for her had been accidentally revealed to Katie during the argument that had ended their relationship. He was never going to forget the way her eyes had leapt in fury or her demand to stay well away from Gabriella.

"Oh." Gabriella murmured, for a moment Troy thought she was going to say something more before she surprised him by laying down on the concrete and wordlessly motioning for him to lay down next to her.

Troy shifted so he could stretch himself out and he gazed up at the stars that sparkled like hard diamonds against the midnight blue backdrop. Feeling his hand brush her side, Troy swallowed slightly.

"So…how is Katie? I know she went off to NYU but that's about it." Gabriella smiled at the questions, finding it just like Troy to inquire after someone he had ended up not liking very much at all.

"She's good. Content is the word I'd use, I guess. She's majoring in English and loving every minute of it. New York is the place she's always wanted to go to and it suits her." Gabriella replied and Troy smiled hearing how happy Gabriella sounded talking about her sister. A year ago, the subject of Katie was a sore one and Troy had learnt not to push it.

"Its easier getting along with her when she's not living in the room next to her, right?" He asked, his hand brushing against her wrist as Gabriella turned her head to look at him a small smile on her lips that told him he'd guessed right.

"Yeah. It really is. I talk to her once a week and she's always full of news of things she's done and who she's seeing. Its nice." Testing, just testing, he told himself, Troy slipped his hand into hers, waiting for her reaction as she spoke about her relationship with her sister. Her eyes darkened as a blush spread across her cheeks before she responded by lacing her fingers through his.

"That's good. That's really good, Brie." Troy murmured and Gabriella smiled at him before she once again tilted her face to the sky.

Troy stared at her for a moment longer, taking in the beauty of her face bathed in moonlight noticing for the first time that her face had matured in the year he had been gone. His eyes lingered on her full lips for a moment and he wanted nothing more than to prop himself up and kiss them softly and gently, a kiss reserved for someone special.

Troy turned his head away from her profile at the thought, suddenly realizing that being just friends with her wasn't going to cut it at.

Because laying side by side, on a concrete basketball court, their hands intertwined and her face bathed in moonlight made Troy not only want to remedy their title of just friends, but to correct it.

* * *

A/N: Well, I really like this chapter! Troy's going to make his move soon too. Which is really exciting, anyway, I know I said that I would update during the week but its easier now. I hope you all enjoyed!


	4. Confused

Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: Well, I thought I might get a head start on updates seeing as my holidays look pretty random. I have no idea how its going to work so just bear with me in the next two months! This is just a pre-warning to. School has just ended for me but I still don't know how my holidays are going to work out, whether I have internet access or even if I have a computer. So I'm going to try and finish this before I go away. Anyway, please enjoy!

* * *

_**Your Anything**_

**Chapter Four: Confused **

_Sharpay Evans was confused._

_It was a strange emotion that she had honestly never felt before. She wasn't confused because Ryan had suddenly begun disappearing at around five o'clock every Friday evening and returning at around ten o'clock. No, that didn't confuse nor did why her parents were so mad at her. Her report card was, after all, the worst she had ever gotten. Not even having Miss Darbus yell at her for something had confused her the way Troy Bolton was currently doing._

_She honestly had no idea how she had managed to end up sitting alone with him, especially because her best friend and his girlfriend were, currently, no where in sight. Although, Sharpay supposed, Katie was probably lurking some where, eyeing the two of them together in case Sharpay made a move on Troy. But that wasn't even what was confusing her. No, what was _really_ confusing her was that Troy Bolton, the Troy Bolton, was asking her question about Gabriella that Sharpay was pretty sure weren't relevant to anything in his life._

_Besides Gabriella. _

_"Okay, what's her favorite animal?" Troy asked curiously and Sharpay forced herself not to raise her eyebrows at the question before she shrugged. _

_"Probably a white tiger. She love's them." Troy nodded, his eyes wandering across the courtyard of the school, taking in the people who were starting to arrive slowly. _

_"Hmm, what about her favorite color?" He asked and Sharpay shrugged, wondering why he was asking such generic questions and then found herself curious despite her misgivings. She wanted to know where this was going. _

_"Probably blue. Her favorite gemstone is a sapphire." Sharpay said and Troy nodded, apparently not hearing what she had said and then looking back at her, his gaze thoughtful. Sharpay studied him, still unsure as to why he was asking these questions. _

_"Does she like crowds of people or just a few?" He asked and Sharpay blinked, having not expected that question at all. For a moment, she wondered if Troy was asking that question because he didn't know or if he was just making sure that he had picked up on Gabriella's shyness. _

_"Definitely only a few. She gets uncomfortable in crowds." Sharpay replied, picking up her water bottle and taking a sip. Troy was silent and Sharpay took that as a chance to ask why on earth he was asking her all these questions about her best friend._

_"What's with the questions, Troy? 'Cause no offense, but I'm pretty sure Gabriella isn't your girlfriend." Sharpay asked, trying not to sound protective or even judgmental of what he was doing. _

_Sharpay watched as Troy studied her silently for a moment and then had a sick feeling that she had offended him. Before she could hastily take back her question, something lit up in his eyes and he grinned. _

_"Isn't it Gabriella's birthday soon? As her friend, aren't I meant to give her a present?" He asked mischievously and Sharpay's mouth dropped open. Out of all the things she'd expected him to say, Gabriella's birthday definitely was not what she had figured. _

_Before Sharpay could say something, she heard someone cough delicately and her head snapped to the side to see Gabriella and Katie, standing behind the bench, one watching them with curiosity and the other with contempt._

_"Hello Sharpay," Katie greeted before leaning down to give Troy a kiss. Sharpay made a gagging sound at the scene in front of her. "Hey baby." She murmured and Sharpay glanced at Gabriella, who was looking elsewhere._

_"Hey Kat." Troy replied, standing up and successfully dislodging her from his mouth. Gabriella looked over at him when he stretched and Sharpay couldn't help but watch in appreciation as Troy's shirt hitched up slightly and his smoothly muscled abdomen came into view. _

_"Hey Shar, hey Troy." Gabriella suddenly said when Troy had finished stretching his back out. Sharpay smiled at her friend, standing up as well. Before she could speak, however, Troy scoffed._

_"Is that all I get? Honestly, Gabriella, I don't get a hug?" He asked teasingly and Gabriella rolled her eyes before stepping forward and wrapping herself around him. Sharpay tried to hold back a grin at Katie's huff and failed miserably because she knew that they'd both seen the way Gabriella nestled perfectly against Troy and the way his arms, which encased her in a warm embrace, fitted around her perfectly._

_Now Sharpay Evans was really confused. Because if Troy would rather be hugged by Gabriella then kissed by Katie, why was he with Katie in the first place?_

This time Sharpay Evans wasn't confused. She was suspicious. Because, as far as she knew, Troy Bolton only ever asked her serious questions about her best friend when he wanted to do something for her.

And right now, despite having been gone for a year, was absolutely no exception.

The problem was, Sharpay had no idea what it was that Troy wanted to do with Gabriella and she was having a tough time trying to figure it out, simply because Troy was being very careful with his answers when she asked a question.

"She still likes sapphires, right?" Troy asked cautiously and Sharpay nodded, eyeing him cautiously before speaking.

"Uh-huh. And white tigers are still her favorite animal. Her favorite band has changed though. It used to be Nickelback and now it's Matchbox Twenty." Sharpay narrowed her eyes at the slightly proud look on Troy's face at her words. "What did you do?" She asked and Troy's eyes widened innocently before shrugging.

"We had an argument about who was better and, apparently, Matchbox Twenty won." Troy said convincingly and Sharpay rolled her eyes at his words.

"Alright then. Oh, Taylor Swift is, like, her new favorite artist and 'I'd Lie' is her favorite song by her." Sharpay said and Troy looked confused, giving Sharpay the impression that he only vaguely knew who Taylor Swift was.

"Um, okay. Why 'I'd Lie'?" Troy asked and Sharpay eyes lit up slightly at the question. She'd forgotten that Troy knew Gabriella's favorite songs, generally, had something to with some aspect of her life.

"Well, the lyrics do go along the lines of 'and if you asked me if I love him, I'd lie'. I wonder why it's her favorite song by Taylor Swift, hmm?" Sharpay said and Troy stared at her silently.

Sharpay shifted uncomfortably as the silence stretched to a minute. Silently, she wondered if she'd done the right thing by being so blunt about it and then was shocked when Troy rolled his eyes.

"Subtlety is _not_ your strong point, Sharpay." Troy stated and Sharpay wanted to pretend to be shocked and then sighed.

"Yeah, well, subtlety is _your_ strong point. Will you just tell me what is with all the cryptic, really generic questions?" Sharpay asked and Troy eyes sparkled slightly, warning Sharpay that he wasn't going to answer her question easily. He was going to make her work for the answer.

"I'm thinking about it.' He said and Sharpay folded her arms, huffing slightly at the way he was studying.

"Then you must be thinking hard because last time I checked there was a light on but nobody was home." Troy stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. Sharpay huffed again, not sure why he was laughing at her.

"You know, I think that deserves an answer. Not because it's original but because it's the first time you've managed to insult my intelligence without being malicious." Troy said and Sharpay frowned, wondering how on earth what she had said warranted an answer and sure that she'd been malicious about the insult to his intelligence.

"I don't get it." She frowned and Troy just rolled his eyes.

"You want an answer, don't you Sharpay?" Troy had the courtesy to wait until she nodded before he continued. "I'm asking because I'm going to ask Gabriella out. On a date."

Sharpay's squeal of delight echoed through out the courtyard and had the people within a hundred feet of her spinning around to stare as Troy leaned back from her, wincing as her scream echoed in his ears. Neither of them noticing the amused brunette standing a few feet away from them.

Gabriella managed to fight a laugh at the pained expression on Troy's face. It was strange to see Troy look so uncomfortable in front of someone, but then, Sharpay had never actually encouraged Troy to be comfortable around her. As far as Gabriella knew, Sharpay had gone from obsessed fan girl to protective best friend to crazy shopper in front of Troy. All of which had scared him in some way and all of which he had never wanted to experience again.

She watched as Sharpay opened her mouth again and knew she had to act quickly before another squeal escaped her mouth.

Walking as quickly as she could, Gabriella managed to reach the table they were sitting at before Sharpay could draw in the breath she would need to let out another scream.

"Hey guys." She said hastily and watched as Sharpay's mouth snapped shut and Troy's shoulders sagged in relief.

"Hey Gabs." Sharpay greeted, watching as Gabriella absently placed her bag on the table and shifted so she was standing behind Troy, her hands going to his shoulders and beginning to knead.

"Hey Brie. A little to the left." Gabriella complied with the request, shifting her hand to his left shoulder slightly and applying slightly more pressure. She glanced at Sharpay and blushed when she saw her friend's raised eyebrows and pointed look.

Despite the look, Gabriella continued to massage Troy's shoulders, secretly enjoying the way his muscles flexed beneath her fingers when she reached a good spot.

"Shar, what was with the squeal?" Gabriella asked suddenly and Sharpay's eyes lowered from her friends to Troy, whose own eyes had snapped open at the question. The look he shot her promised a great number of nasty things he'd do to her if Gabriella found out what he had told her and Sharpay shrugged.

"He told me that he thought Ryan and Kelsi were together. I was happy that you and I weren't the only ones." Sharpay replied, shrugging casually and thanking the higher powers that she was a good actress otherwise Gabriella wouldn't have nodded absently.

"Hmm. Alright. Did you tell her about McDonalds and those nicknames?" Gabriella asked Troy teasingly, sliding her hands over his shoulders so they dangled over his chest and she could look at his face. Troy turned his head slightly to look at her, his own hand itching to take one of the ones that were currently dangling on his chest and managing to restrain himself as he answered.

"Not yet. Are the nicknames really that important, though?" Troy asked and Gabriella smirked at him.

"No. But they were funny." She replied, a hint of teasing in her tone before Sharpay coughed delicately.

"What were these nicknames, may I inquire?" She asked primly and Gabriella hid her snort in Troy's shoulder before poking his stomach in an attempt to get him to confess. Troy was silent and as she went to poke him again, his hand came up and caught hers, entwining their fingers before he answered.

"Piano Girl and Theatre Boy." Troy said and Gabriella barely heard him as she stared at the hand that was currently intertwined with hers. As she studied them, Gabriella couldn't help but wonder how her hand seemed to fit so perfectly within his own. Silently, she watched as his think stroked across the back of her hand lazily and blushed.

"…well, Theatre Boy's better than what everyone else was calling him back then." Gabriella tuned back in time to hear the argumentative tone of Troy's voice.

"How is it better?" She asked, interrupting Sharpay's retort, knowing that her friends retort would be something along the lines of 'stereotyping a poor defenseless freshman without giving him a chance'. Troy's thumb stroked back over the back of her hand and Gabriella fought to concentrate on his answer and not the way his thumb felt on the back of her hand.

"Because everyone was calling him 'Gay Boy' at one stage. 'Sparkly' at another and 'Here Boy' before he finally stopped following his sister around." Troy replied and Gabriella tried to not look amused by the last two names and knew she had failed miserable at the accurate picture the last two had painted of Ryan.

"Gee, I wonder why they called him 'Here Boy'?" Gabriella wondered, looking at Sharpay who had the grace to blush at the reminder of the way she had treated her brother before he'd gotten involved with baseball and managed to remove himself from her shadow.

"But Theatre Boy? Seriously Troy? Theatre Boy?" Sharpay attempted at keeping the argument going, her eyes flicking to their joined hands before she glanced back up at the two facing her, Gabriella's chin resting on Troy's shoulder.

"Yeah, well, he was Theatre Boy." Troy stated, as if pointing out the obvious. Before Sharpay could even think up another argument to the bland statement, someone else broke into the conversation.

"Theatre Boy? As in me?" Ryan asked, glancing at Troy who nodded before his eyes drifted down to Troy and Gabriella's joint hands. He raised his eyes at his sister before Troy spoke.

"Yeah. As in you." Troy said and Ryan nodded, making a thoughtful face before shrugging.

"It's not as bad as 'Here Boy'. That was just embarrassing." He said and Sharpay let out a strangled scream, standing up abruptly and glaring at her brother.

"You don't mind?" She asked and Ryan rolled his eyes, before shaking his head.

"Nah. Don't get dramatic. You were the 'Pink Monster' when I was 'Sparkly' and 'Pinkified' when I was 'Here Boy'." Ryan said and Sharpay looked horrified before she turned around and stalked off.

"Wow, I didn't expect that from her." Ryan commented, staring at his sister as she stormed away, apparently furious.

"Yeah, well, it's the first time she's found out she was referred to as something other than 'Ice Princess'." Gabriella pointed out and Ryan laughed. Troy shifted beneath her arms and Gabriella reflexively squeezed his hand, though she didn't know why he had shifted.

"I've got to ask you something, Ryan, are you seriously going out with Kelsi?" Gabriella started at the question and Ryan barely blinked.

"No. I'm seriously not going out with Kelsi." Gabriella rolled her eyes at the answer and Ryan seemed confident as Troy was silent for a minute before he spoke again.

"You're lying." Gabriella attempted to straighten at Troy's words and Ryan started at the calm statement.

"I am not lying!" Ryan exclaimed and Gabriella raised an eyebrow at the hotly said statement, wondering why Ryan had gotten so riled up, so quickly.

"So you're seriously _not _going out with Kelsi?" Troy asked calmly and Gabriella blinked at the question, wondering why it sounded exactly like the last one.

"No!" Ryan snapped and Troy raised his eyebrows at the answer before he spoke again.

"So you are going out with Kelsi?" Troy asked and Gabriella furrowed her brow, trying to keep up with conversation before she stopped trying to keep up with it and instead watched Ryan turn an interesting shade of red.

"I'm not dignifying that with a response." Ryan snapped before he stood up and stalked off, leaving Gabriella ogling after him.

The silence that followed Ryan's departure was something of a confused, relaxed atmosphere. Gabriella couldn't help but wonder exactly what had just happened while Troy massaged the back of her hand on last time before letting it go.

"Well, that answers your questions about Theatre Boy and Piano Girl." Troy said finally as Gabriella flexed her hand slightly before she stood up fully, stretching her back as Troy stood too.

"Does it?" Gabriella asked, smiling at Troy as she accepted her bag off him.

"Uh-huh. He and Kelsi have got something going on." Troy said and Gabriella sighed, choosing to ignore what he had said and instead focus on something else she had just realized.

"Should I be worried that you managed to offend two of my best friends in a matter of twenty minutes?" She asked curiously and Troy paused for a moment before he chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

"No. They'll get over it, anyway before the bell rings and you have to rush to class, I gotta ask you something." Troy said and Gabriella grinned at him as she ran her hand through her hair in an attempt to repair the damage Troy had managed to do to it.

"No, Sharpay's not that obsessive Troy Bolton fan she was two years ago and she hasn't got a secret plan to kidnap you." Gabriella said cheekily, flushing with pleasure when Troy laughed at her words.

"That's not what I was going to ask, but thanks for clearing that up for me." Troy chuckled, leaning against the table to study her.

Gabriella grinned back at him, feeling suddenly nervous as his eyes lost some of their playfulness and his smile faded slightly. For a moment, just a moment, she though she'd done something wrong and then pushed the thought aside. How was she meant to have offended him when he'd only been back for a week?

"So, are you going to ask me or stand there?" She asked and Troy let out a surprised breath at the cheekiness of her tone before smiling at her and shrugging.

"What're you doing this Friday?" Troy asked and Gabriella shrugged, not really sure what to make of the question before she decided to answer truthfully.

"Not much. Mom's going out somewhere, I think." Gabriella replied, fiddling slightly with the strap of her bag. Troy tensed slightly before he allowed himself a small smile.

"Well, do you wanna go out?" Gabriella forced her mouth to stay closed at the question. She stared at Troy, wondering what he meant and if she should answer as enthusiastically as she wanted too.

"Like…like on a date?" She asked hesitantly, wanting to slap herself for sounding like an idiot and then not able to see how she could have avoided it if she wanted to answer his question with the answer he was looking for.

"Yeah. Like on a date." Troy's eyes watched her worriedly as Gabriella's grip on the strap of her bag, tightened until her knuckles were white.

Gabriella found herself concentrating on not hyperventilating as Troy took a step closer to her, his eyes watching her worriedly.

"But…a date? A date? Why a date? Why not hanging out? What about…oh, don't get me wrong, I want to go but a date? You went out with my sister! Doesn't that count for anything? Why me? Why-" Gabriella cut herself off as Troy lifted the hand that hung at her side, his eyes dancing in amusement as he looked at her, apparently having thoroughly enjoyed her rambles.

Gabriella's breath caught in her throat as she realized how close he had become and then she forgot to breathe as he spoke again, his voice smooth and warm.

"Gabriella, would you like to go out on a date with me?" Troy asked gently, his warm breath blowing over her hand as Gabriella's brain struggled to function properly, the way it had been before when she had been thinking of a thousand different ways to reject the idea of going on a date with Troy.

"I – uh…um…." She trailed off as Troy placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles before he chuckled again.

"It's not a hard question Brie. You've already said the answer." Troy told her quietly and Gabriella drew in a sharp breath at the humorous warmth in his eyes before she remembered to breathe again.

"Yes." The word was breathed out almost as soon as she'd remembered how to function properly. Troy whispered his lips across her knuckles again before he allowed her hand to drop back to her side.

Gabriella smiled at him shyly before she heard the bell ring. Troy folded his arms and nodded at her, letting her know it was okay to go. Taking in a deep breath, Gabriella turned and began heading to class, unsure what had just happened and confused as to why she had reacted so erratically to his question when all she had been able to think about was what it would be like to go on an actual date with Troy Bolton.

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A/N: Well, I hope that was enjoyable. Again, sorry for not updating last week but it was kind of insane and I could barely bring myself to study let alone write for some strange reason! I hope you all enjoyed!


	5. Didn't Know Before

Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: I've decided that I want to concentrate on this for a little bit longer, which means the new chapter of MTLFM will be out when I have written enough to suffice this craving I have to finish off this story. Which might mean I'll crank out something like five chapters before it's updated and since I'm on school holidays, that might not be as a hard as it would seem! Anyway, I'm glad you all enjoyed last chapter, especially when Troy asked Gabriella out and now there's one loose end I need to tie up before Mr Bolton and Miss Montez can fall into a state of no return. Please enjoy!

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_**Your Anything**_

**Chapter Five: Didn't Know Before  
**

_Gabriella fiddled nervously with the hem of her shirt as she sat on their front porch, waiting for her sister and her mother to return from shopping and hoping that her sister would be in a good enough mood to hear her out before she rejected the entire idea of her spending the night of her birthday with Troy. _

_A small blush graced her cheeks as she remembered the way Troy had leaned against the locker beside hers that morning, talking about something completely irrelevant before he asked casually what she was doing on the night of her birthday, because, if nobody minded, he wanted to take her out and spoil her a bit. She'd blushed, stammered slightly before nodding her head eagerly._

_She'd completely ignored the little voice in the back of her mind that snidely reminded her that he was her sister's boyfriend and he shouldn't be so concerned about her birthday. _

_Now, after floating through the day the way someone would have if they'd been asked by their crush of forever, Gabriella had come crashing down of her giddy excitement as she realized she'd have to get permission from both her mother and her sister if she really wanted to go out on the night of her birthday with Troy. She knew her mother wouldn't mind her going out with someone, as long as she was back at a reasonable hour, sober, happy and the same person she'd left. But her sister, Gabriella found herself sighing at the thought of her sister. _

_Well, her sister was another story. Gabriella knew her sister could get jealous and she doubted that Katie would let her sister be an exception to the green monster that seemed to arise every time another girl showed even the slightest interest in Troy. _

_The trick, therefore, would have to be convincing Katie that what this thing on her birthday was was nothing more than a platonic encounter between two very good friends. _

_Gabriella wasn't sure her sister would buy it, she hadn't and Sharpay had pointed it out when Gabriella had tried to convince the blonde that it was indeed just that._

_Hearing a car door slam shut, Gabriella looked up, startled. She relaxed slightly when she saw that it was Katie and her mother, arriving home after shopping and laden with several bags that made her nervous. Evidently, they hadn't been shopping just for them. _

_"Gabi! What are you doing sitting out here?" Gabriella jumped at her mother's question to which Christina Montez replied with a raised eyebrow. She smiled guiltily and then shrugged. _

_"I, uh, needed to think." Gabriella replied, tugging on a curl and twining it around her finger in a nervous habit that made Christina smile slightly. She ignored her eldest daughter as she sat down next to Gabriella, who turned to look at her, frowning slightly._

_"And what is it that you needed to think about?" The teasing lilt to her mother's voice caused a blush to spread across Gabriella's cheeks as she realized her mother probably had a better idea to what was going on inside her head then she did._

_"Well, Troy kind of asked me today if it was alright if I went out with him on my birthday. Is that okay?" Gabriella asked quickly, not bothering to glance at her sister, who had dropped her shopping bags with a thud. _

_Christina's eyebrows rose at the question. For a brief moment, she wondered what it was about this boy that had both her daughter going haywire and then didn't care when she saw the sparkle, nearly hidden by nervousness in her youngest daughter's eyes. If Troy Bolton was putting that sparkle in Gabriella's eyes than Christina could only imagine what it was about him that had her youngest daughter enraptured and her older daughter, no matter what she thought, in lust. She could only guess which one was putting the sparkle in his eyes. _

"_Of course its okay. It's your birthday. As long as he gets you home at a reasonable hour, I don't want my newly turned sixteen year old coming home at two o'clock in the morning." Gabriella smiled in relief at her mother's easy acceptance of what she wanted to do and then dared look at Katie. Her sister looked like she was about to spontaneously combust any second and Gabriella winced slightly when she opened her mouth._

"_Well, I don't think its okay. My boyfriend, my decision. I don't want you to go out with him." Gabriella stared at her sister, wondering how on earth she thought Gabriella was actually going to do something other then go somewhere with Troy. Before she could reply, the carefully crafted reply springing to her lips, Christina spoke._

"_No. It's Troy's decision and your sisters. You, Katherine, are not going to interfere, despite what you might think." Christina Montez had always been a caring, considerate mother who rarely put her foot down on matters between her girls. In return, she expected both her daughters to return the favor and obey their curfew, do things when requested and do well at school._

_Lately, Katie hadn't been getting the message and Christina was fast getting fed up with her eldest daughters lack of understanding towards not only what was expected of her but also her lack of respect for her sister. _

"_Katie, it's not that big of a deal. Troy's a friend and he wants to do something with me for sixteenth." Gabriella said tentatively as her sister spluttered. Christina cut in before Katie could speak._

"_That's final. Katherine, on your sisters birthday, you will stay with me and let your sister do what you want. Just like you've been doing for the past six months." Gabriella winced at the accusatory warning in her mother's voice and knew that Katie was going to get the rest of it when she left the two alone._

_For now, Gabriella was content with wondering how on earth her sister would react if Troy had actually asked her out on a proper date, provided he's broken up with Katie first. _

Gabriella sighed at the memory, not really willing to delve into anything that had happened the rest of the week. Most of it had revolved around Katie making snide comments, her secret giddiness at actually going somewhere with Troy and the tension that had built between her mother and Katie until she had been picked up by Troy on that Friday night.

Not really wanting to think about it anymore, she slid out of her car and headed for her front door, unable to not think about the way Troy had acted during lunch that day. He'd made a habit of coming to find her during her lunch hour, sometimes at the beginning and sometimes just at the end. Either way, Gabriella had found herself sitting outside with him more often then not, poking fun at him and blushing as her hand ended up entwined with his. Sharpay had claimed the fact that they always simple held hands was nauseating. Gabriella had refused to comment, though she found the fact that she could hold hands with Troy incredibly sweet. Moreover, the fact that he wanted to hold hands with her was enough to make her head spin.

Unable to keep herself from smiling, Gabriella stepped into her house and was instantly hit with the smell of dark chocolate mixed with a faint tinge orange and knew her mother was in the kitchen, baking. Gabriella shut the door and headed towards the kitchen, her smile widening when she saw her mother seated at the kitchen table, icing a chocolate cupcakes.

"Good afternoon Mom. Get off work early?" Gabriella asked, careful not to startle her mother. Christina looked up, smiling warmly at her youngest daughter and nodding, gesturing to the seat next to hers.

Gabriella moved over to her mother, grabbing a butter knife as she did so. She gratefully sat down, picked up a cupcake, scooped out some of the chocolate icing and, leaning her head on her mothers shoulder, began icing it.

"What's wrong, baby?" Christina asked soothingly, sensing something was wrong with her daughter as Gabriella dipped the top of the cupcake in blue sprinkles before setting it on the cooling rack and picking up another one.

"Nothings wrong exactly," Gabriella sighed, concentrating on smoothing the icing before continuing. "I told you Troy was back in town, didn't I?" She asked as she watched her mother dip the cupcake much the same way she had before.

"Uh-huh. I haven't seen you that excited in a long time. So, what's wrong with Troy being back in town?" Christina asked and Gabriella shrugged hr shoulders and picked up another cupcake, repeating the process as she replied.

"Nothing. It's just…Mom he asked me out. Like on an official date." Gabriella said and Christina's hand froze before continuing to spread the icing carefully over the surface of the cupcake. Gabriella waited with bated breath for her mothers reply, tilting her head properly so she could see her mother's mature face.

"I see. Does that mean we have to go shopping?" Christina asked and Gabriella bit back a smile, knowing that her mother's reaction to the news was what would be expected of her if Katie had been the one sitting next to her.

"No. I have enough clothes already. It's just that…" Gabriella trailed off, unsure how to put it. Her mother, however, picked up on exactly what it was that Gabriella didn't know how to say and finished the sentence for her.

"You don't know how your sisters going to react and you want to go with him so badly that if she blows up you'll not go and be miserable." Christina said and Gabriella nodded, her cheek rubbing against her mothers shirt and stirring the scent that she'd always worn.

"Basically. I already said yes though. Does that make me a bad person, Mama? Shouldn't I have checked with Katie before saying yes to her ex-boyfriend?" Gabriella asked, closing her eyes as her mother placed down her cupcake and kissed the top of her head. Christina could only smile gently at Gabriella's questions, knowing that her youngest daughter had been waiting for a very long time for Troy Bolton to ask her out officially.

"No, baby, it doesn't make you a bad person. You've been waiting a very long time to go out with Troy and believe it or not, your sister probably wouldn't have done the same thing for you. She would have said yes and gone and done it with or without your permission. Besides, I know she'll understand." Christina gently smoothed a hand over her daughter's hair, smiling when Gabriella snuggled closer. She could only treasure these moments with Gabriella for a little while longer. She knew, before long, Gabriella would be gone and these moments would be gone as well.

"I hope she does. I really want to go out with him Mom. I forgot I liked him so much." Gabriella whispered and was rewarded with her mother's smooth chuckle.

"No, you didn't. You just convinced yourself that you didn't really because you were afraid of what your sister would say if she found out." Christina said and Gabriella blushed at the accuracy of her mothers words. She didn't really want to admit that her mother was right but she knew it wouldn't do any good.

"Did I do the wrong thing? You know, just staying friends with him?" Gabriella asked and Christina shrugged, kissing Gabriella's forehead again.

"I don't know. I'll tell you something though, Gabriella, something I never told your sister." Christina said and Gabriella raised her head off her mother's shoulders to look at her, raising her eyebrows slightly at the look of intense concentration on her mothers face.

"What?" She asked curiously and Christina raised her hand to touch her daughter's cheek before sighing and smiling gently.

"Troy Bolton always put a sparkle in your eyes. Just the way his eyes always lit up whenever you showed up unexpectedly. Whether either of you realized it or not, you were never meant to be just friends and if it weren't for your sister, I don't doubt that the sparkle you always got whenever you were around him would have never gone out when he went away." Gabriella blushed slightly at her mother's observation and looked away. "Baby, you two were so intent on just being anything to each other neither of you ever really saw you could be anything past friends." Christina said and Gabriella gaped openly at her mother, who smiled at her as if she had wanted to state that for a long time and had only just been able to.

Shaking her head slightly, Gabriella's head resumed its position on her mothers shoulder as she thought about what her mother had said.

"You really think so?" Gabriella asked curiously and Christina let out a small laugh, the sound resonating through the kitchen.

"I know so. What did Sharpay say about all of this?" Gabriella let out a quiet giggle at the mention of her best friend, before shrugging her shoulders and picking up another cupcake.

"Well, she did call us nauseatingly sweet a couple of hours ago. Which means she approves and is already planning the wedding." Gabriella said and Christina laughed again, a little harder this time.

"That's wonderful to know. Remind her to send me an invitation, just in case she forgets that I'm your mother and need to be in attendance." Gabriella burst into laughter and giggled helplessly next to her mother before they were interrupted by the phone ringing.

Still giggling, Gabriella reluctantly left her position by her mother's side to answer the phone, fully expecting it to be her father or maybe even Troy and getting a shock at who was on the other end of the line.

"Hey Gabi!" Gabriella paled visibly at her sisters excited voice and she stared at her mother who's eyes where still twinkling in amusement.

"Hey Katie. What's up?" Gabriella struggled to keep her voice even as she realized that Katie was going to ask her what had been going on in her life and for the life of her, Gabriella couldn't figure out how to lie to her sister about Troy being back or him asking her out.

"Oh you know, classes are winding down and the professors are sort of loosening up. Which means that I've been going out a bit more than usual." Katie said suggestively and Gabriella rolled her eyes at the implication.

"How's Dave?" She asked and was rewarded with Katie's laughter. Dave Harris had been Katie's boyfriend for nearly a year and Gabriella knew that despite all her innuendos, Katie was completely smitten with him.

"He's good. Really, really good, actually. Gabs, he's talking about moving in together." Katie said and Gabriella's eyes widened as her mother motioned her to leave the kitchen so she could continue the conversation.

"Katie! That's so awesome, what's mom going to say?" Gabriella asked and she could practically see Katie shrugging.

"Well, I'll tell her if it happens. I'm going to hold him off for a little while Gabs; I'm having fun living in the dorms. Besides, Dave's only talking about it. We both know that it'll take him at least another year before he gets completely serious and by then, I'll probably be more ready to make a decision." Katie said as Gabriella settled herself on the lounge, pulling her feet up beneath her and propping her head on her fist.

"Okay, okay. Just as long as its only talk, cause then mom won't have a huge heart attack and think that she's really losing her oldest daughter." Gabriella said teasingly. Katie laughed as she grinned and Gabriella couldn't help but relax a little more.

"I won't. She's just going to have a bigger heat attack when I tell her about my newest Manolo Blahniks." Katie said, causing Gabriella to laugh at her sisters words. "So, what have you been up too?" Gabriella tensed as soon as she heard the question.

"Getting ready for summer, basically." Gabriella winced at her own reply, knowing that her sister was going to know something was up just from the vagueness in her answer. She heard Katie sigh and knew that she had to figure out how to tell her what was really going on.

"Uh-huh. Have you heard from Dad?" Katie asked, letting Gabriella know that they would return to the vagueness of her answer in a little bit. Gabriella sighed at the mention of their father.

"No. But you do realize he has another little girl to look after don't you? I did get an email from Amy though; she said that she couldn't wait to see either of us." Gabriella said, grateful she could talk about her father, their stepmother and her half-sister.

Despite her father living in California and having a new baby, neither Gabriella nor Katie had ever had any reason to resent their father for getting remarried nor for divorcing their mother. Their parents had gone through an amicable divorce when Gabriella had been nine and Katie eleven and despite the relative quickness of Jackson Montez's relationship with his new wife; Amy, Katie and Gabriella remained in close contact with their father and always eagerly awaited the day when they could see their new sister. Even Christina had stayed in contact with Jackson and, much to the astonishment of her ex-husband and daughters had become close friends with Amy. It was an odd family arrangement but both Katie and Gabriella reveled in it.

"Of course I do. I can't wait to see how much Amelia's grown." Katie said and Gabriella giggled slightly, knowing that both of them couldn't wait to see their sister again.

"Me either." She agreed and silence fell for an instance and for a moment, Gabriella thought she was off the hook. Until Katie spoke up again.

"So, what's really been going on?" She asked and Gabriella took a deep breath. Deciding that she should make it as quick and painful as ripping off a band-aid was.

"Okay, don't get mad and don't yell or hang up. Can you promise me that?" Gabriella asked quickly and she heard Katie's sound of confusion before her sister spoke again.

"Okay. What have you done?" Katie asked and Gabriella took a deep breath before she spoke, quickly but legibly.

"Troy kind of came back and he asked me out and I know its sort of an unwritten rule to never date your sister's ex-boyfriends but I said yes. Are you mad?" Katie was silent for several long moments that Gabriella thought she had hung up, despite the fact that there was no dial tone. "Katie?" Gabriella spoke again before dropping the phone when her sister burst into laughter.

As quickly as she could, Gabriella leaned down and plucked it up, holding it back to her ear only to discover that her sister was still laughing.

"Oh Gabi, that's so funny." Katie gasped and Gabriella frowned, not pleased with being laughed at and wondering what on earth was so funny about what she had just said.

"What's funny? Katie, I don't see what's funny!" Gabriella exclaimed and glancing at her mother who had appeared in the doorway and was eyeing Gabriella with curiosity. Gabriella rolled her eyes at Christina, who raised her hands in surrender and turned around to head back to the kitchen.

"Gabriella, you don't need to ask my permission to go out on a first date with Troy. He was my high school boyfriend, sweetie, in case you missed my news earlier I am over Troy Bolton." Katie said and Gabriella nearly dropped the phone again. She couldn't believe that Katie hadn't spontaneously combusted on her or had hung up. She didn't know which one shocked her more.

"I don't? But why? I mean…you didn't want me to have anything to do with him during your senior year." Gabriella asked and Katie sighed, almost as if she didn't really want to repeat something that she had never said to Gabriella before.

"Gabs, I was jealous back then. You and Troy always had something that Troy and I never had. It was easier to tell you not to see him then to see you guys together and wonder what it was that I didn't have to make him a little more interested in me." Gabriella knew that her breath had been knocked out of her at Katie's words. Katie had been _jealous_? That was not possible. For Katie to be jealous, Gabriella would have needed to become a Victoria's Secret Supermodel or suddenly become more beautiful then her sister. Not have a better connection with Troy.

"_What_?" She gasped and Katie sighed.

"I was jealous. You two were just…so much more compatible than he and I were. And then that birthday thing…that just topped it off." Katie said and Gabriella suddenly giggled, finding it strange that she had only been thinking about Katie's reaction to Troy's birthday plan before.

"I was just thinking about that. Sorry, anyway, jealous? You?" Gabriella repeated and heard Katie's annoyed breath.

"Yes. But Gabriella I seriously don't have a problem with you going out with Troy. You might just find out something's about him that you didn't know before." Katie said and Gabriella furrowed her brow at the mysterious wondering what on earth Katie was talking about.

"Katie? What are-" Gabriella found herself cut off before she could ask about what Katie was talking about

"I have to go Gabs, sorry. But you have to call me and tell me all about the date. I'm going to want to know everything! Tell mom I'll call her at work tomorrow, love you." Katie hung up before Gabriella could even comprehend what she had said.

Gabriella stared at the phone, wondering what on earth had just happened. Katie wasn't jealous, she wasn't going to blow up the way she had when Gabriella had asked about going with Troy and what she had meant by finding out something about Troy that she didn't know before.

* * *

A/N: I hope that wasn't too disappointing. I had Katie's reaction already planned out because I really didn't want any drama in this story and the only drama outlet would have been her. Also, I had to explain Gabriella's dad before someone pointed out he didn't exist in this story. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and that Katie's reaction was believable because I don't really know if it was or not. I hope you all enjoyed!


	6. White Dress

Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: Aren't I doing well? Another update, which is like three in four days or something. Anyway, the T/G date is here ladies and gents! Just to let you all know, I'm going to split the date into two chapters, not because I want to be mean or anything but I feel that it would work better that way. So without further ado, the date!

* * *

_**Your Anything**_

**Chapter Six: White Dress  
**

_Gabriella was nervous. She'd been nervous ever since she'd woken up that morning. Ever since she'd realized that today was, indeed, her birthday and that she had to wait eleven and half hours before Troy picked her up for his Special Birthday Surprise. _

_She hadn't relaxed when she'd got a text message from him wishing her a happy birthday and reminding her cheerfully that he was picking her up a six-thirty or when she'd walked downstairs to be greeted by her excited mother and sullen sister. She hadn't even relaxed when her father and Amy had called, wishing her a happy birthday and reminding her that she had to come and visit sometime soon. _

_Her presents hadn't done much to distract her either. It was a scary realization because Gabriella had always enjoyed her presents, most of which where something that she loved. Though the white sundress her mother had brought her kept her mind occupied for a good fifteen minutes before Christina had made the suggestion of her wearing it out with Troy. Her sister had stormed out and her muscles had tensed at the reminder of what was to go on. Though she had to admit, the dress was in the maybe pile for whatever it was that she was getting herself into. _

_Not even Sharpay, Ryan and Kelsi could provide a welcome distraction to her nerves. Though, they did try. Sharpay had, after all, accused Kelsi and Ryan of dating behind their backs, this time with a much more elaborate, less plausible, array of evidence and scenarios. All of which, Kelsi and Ryan had denied so vehemently that Gabriella hadn't been able to help wondering if they really were denying it or just refusing to accept that their friends were well aware of what they were to each other. _

_Either way, Gabriella had been amused for fifteen minutes before she'd been allowed to open their presents. They had kept her mind of him long enough for her to figure out what to wear without having a nervous breakdown about it. Though, she had to admit, she didn't really understand why she would be having a nervous breakdown if Troy was simply doing this as a friend. _

_But that didn't matter because by the time six-thirty rolled around, Gabriella was ready to call it off. There was no way she was going out with Troy for her birthday. She needed to get out of the white dress her mother had brought her and then find her phone and call him. Tell him that she was sorry but Katie poisoned her food and she couldn't come. _

_It was a good, solid plan and Gabriella knew that it would work. Troy would understand and she would be off the hook and she could curl up with her mother and watch a movie. It would work; Gabriella told herself hotly, it would work well. _

_It would work really well if she could find her damn phone! _

_Gabriella barely realized that she was working herself into a panic attack when her mother gently knocked on her bedroom door. Christina paused for a moment, her eyes crinkling as she smiled and admired how beautiful Gabriella looked. _

_The white dress she'd brought for Gabriella fit her daughter beautifully. The thick spaghetti straps held up the dress as the bodice smoothed over her daughters curves highlighting them gently before it flowed out into a skirt that swayed every time she moved. The color of the dress provided a soft contrast to the tan of her skin and a stark one to her hair, which she wore down and had pushed over one shoulder as she'd paced. Christina could detect very little make-up on her daughter's face, perhaps a little mascara and eyeliner to give depth to her ebony eyes, though Gabriella had apparently dusted her shoulders with body shimmer. _

"_Gabriella, Troy's here." Christina said very softly and Gabriella, who was in the middle of searching her ordered desk for her phone, froze and looked up at her mother with wide frightened eyes. _

_  
"Mama? Can you make something up? Like, Katie poisoned me so I can't go?" It was a last ditch attempt to get herself out of this thing with Troy and an attempt at going back to the way she had been feeling earlier, when there were no nerves and a horrible feeling that it was something more than an outing with a friend._

_Christina clicked her tongue at her daughter's request. "Baby, you look beautiful and you've been looking forward to this ever since Troy asked you. What changed between this morning and now?" Christina asked, aware that Troy was waiting impatiently in their living room for Gabriella and trying to pay attention to his girlfriend when all he wanted was to see Gabriella._

"_I don't know! I'm nervous! Mom, what happens if I do something stupid and Katie finds out and hates me forever? Or what if this isn't just a thing between friends and Troy plays Katie and me?" Gabriella asked and Christina smiled gently at Gabriella, finally seeing what it was all about. It didn't surprise Christina that Gabriella's feelings for Troy had suddenly shown today nor that Gabriella had realized them and begun panicking about Katie finding out and Troy toying with her feelings._

"_Gabriella, that won't happen. You know what you should do?" Christina asked, holding out her arms to her now sixteen year old daughter. Gabriella fled into them, snuggling close as she shook her head. "I think you should just enjoy it. Have fun with Troy and don't worry about anything but how much fun you're having. Okay?" Christina asked gently and Gabriella blew out a breath, relaxing against her mother before pulling back. _

_She smiled and then jumped at the hesitant knock on her door. Gabriella spun and blushed when she saw Troy standing there, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his black jeans. He'd matched the jeans with a deep ocean blue shirt that brought out his eyes and emphasized the strong lines of his body. _

"_Hey." She said quietly and watched as Troy blinked, as if startled, before he grinned at her._

"_Hey. You look really, really good." He said, his eyes traveling over her once more as Gabriella blushed. "I don't want to rush you or anything, but I kind of made reservations." Troy said quietly and Gabriella nodded, stepping over to her bed to pick up her clutch which she had thrown down in her attempt to find her phone. _

_Picking it up and noticing that it was rather heavy, Gabriella opened it and couldn't help but grin slightly when she saw her phone, jammed between some money and her lip-gloss. Snapping her clutch shut, she looked up at Troy and smiled again._

"_So, where are we going?" She asked, heading over to him, pausing only to press a kiss to her mother's cheek before she followed him out of her room and down her stairs. Troy, who had taken her hand as they'd headed past the living room, shrugged mischievously._

"_You'll see, Miss Montez. You'll see." He replied and Gabriella giggled as they reached his truck and she slid into it, forgetting how nervous she had been only minutes before. _

Gabriella smiled at the memory, unaware that Kelsi and Sharpay were sighing in relief as for the first time since she had woken up that morning she relaxed long enough for them to quickly apply another coat of mascara and pronounce her make-up finished. Gabriella blinked slightly as she suddenly became aware that the memory had taken her far away from her bathroom, where she was sitting in front of her mirror, both Sharpay and Kelsi working on her to make her seem like she was the most beautiful person on the face of the earth, and her nerves.

The moment she remembered why she had taken a trip down memory lane, a swooping sensation coursed through her and Gabriella knew that it wasn't because she saw something different in the mirror she was facing.

"Guys? I think I'm going to be sick." Gabriella groaned, unable to stop herself. She'd made the threat several times already, except this time, Gabriella was sure that she was going to throw up on something before Kelsi had even started on her curls, which had dried naturally since her shower an hour before.

"No. You are not going to be sick Gabriella Anne. You are going to continue to sit straight and pretend that this date you-" Gabriella interrupted Sharpay's rant before anything else could come from it.

"Can you not say the word 'date'? 'Cause I really think I'll throw up if someone reminds me that I'm going on a date with Troy. Oh God, _I'm_ going on a _date_ with Troy Bolton." Gabriella attempted not to sound like a wide-eyed fan girl and failed miserably as she realized, for the sixth time that afternoon that she was indeed going on a date with Troy Bolton.

Gabriella ignored the way Sharpay rolled her eyes and gripped the edge of the chair a little harder the nervous swooping sensation repeated and all she could think about was how she was going to get through a date with Troy without spilling something on herself or stammering like an idiot. What was she going to do? Why had she agreed? Sure, Katie had said it was alright and so had her mother but what about her? What had possessed her to actually agree to this date? Why hadn't she asked him more questions, like why did he want to go out somewhere with her? Wasn't there someone better for him?

What if he already had a girlfriend and this wasn't even a date? Gabriella very nearly did throw up at the thought. She didn't think she could face Troy ever again if she really had misinterpreted his question earlier that week. If she had, what was she going to do? She'd gotten herself all beautiful for no reason, he'd just tell her she looked nice and then they would go out and spend time awkwardly trying to get over the fact that he'd said one thing and she'd thought another. That would be the worst thing that could happen. Or one of the worst. Spilling something on herself would definitely be the worst thing that could happen because then Troy would think she was a klutz and she'd spend the rest of the night trying to forget it had happened and ignoring Troy.

"Will you stop thinking?" Sharpay suddenly snapped and Gabriella jumped at the shrill sound of her voice, letting go of the edge of the chair and placing a hand over her hammering heart.

"Oh my God, Shar! Don't do that! You scared me!" Gabriella exclaimed and Sharpay rolled her eyes in annoyance as she stood in front of Gabriella and looked her in the eye.

"Good. Somebody needed to and now I'm gonna slap some sense into you too." Sharpay snapped and continued before Gabriella could continue. "Troy Bolton kissing your hand and asking you out does, indeed, mean he likes you. A lot by the way he was asking me questions about you on Monday. No, he doesn't have a girlfriend back in California. I checked. You agreed because you've been in love with him since forever and no, you won't spill anything on yourself so please stop over thinking this and enjoy the fact that you are going out on a date with a gorgeous boy who, most likely, has a ton of girls lining up begging him to go out with them." Sharpay's words were efficient and sharp. All of them enough to snap some sense into Gabriella, though the nerves were still there and, she guessed, they probably would be until she was out on the date with Troy and enjoying herself.

"Fine. But I don't want to wear the blue dress." Gabriella said and this time, it was Kelsi, who had stayed quiet through out Sharpay's rant, who spoke up.

"Why not? It looks really good on you and it matches his eyes." She asked, confused as to the sudden change. Gabriella, who had shaken her head in an attempt to dislodge Kelsi's probing hands, shrugged before standing up.

"Because I don't want too. I'll show you what I want to wear." Gabriella didn't bother to wait for an answer, instead she walked out of the bathroom, pleased that the memory had inspired more than another panic attack within her.

She knew that Kelsi and Sharpay were following her, apparently confused. As she walked into her bedroom, Gabriella glanced at the clock and nearly stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that it was ten to seven. Which meant that Troy was going to arrive at her place in ten minutes and she had yet to even slip on her dress.

"Okay. Please tell me its something that'll match your make-up and new shoes." Sharpay said as Gabriella began to sift through her wardrobe, desperately praying that it was still in there and she hadn't gone haywire since she'd worn it and decided to give it away to someone.

She ignored Sharpay's complaint and Kelsi's tentative questioning as she began to feel slightly worried, thinking that maybe she had given it away or let Katie borrow it and she'd never returned it when she finally found it, tucked away at the very back of her closet, still looking as good as the day she'd first worn it. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Gabriella pulled it out and turned around so she could show her friends what she was going to wear.

"This is what I'm going to wear. What do you think?" She asked, holding it up to show Sharpay and Kelsi who both stared at it before Sharpay cleared her throat.

"Uh, I think that Troy's going to keel over when he sees you in that." Sharpay said and Gabriella grinned, glad that Sharpay had at least approved. Before she could say anything, Christina knocked on the door and smiled at her daughter and her friends.

"Gabi, Troy's here early." Christina said and smiled at the way all color drained from Gabriella's face. Sharpay spoke before Gabriella could.

"Okay, I'll go down and entertain him for five minutes. Kels, you stay and help Gabs get into that dress." Sharpay said and Kelsi nodded as Gabriella anxiously tugged the dress from the coat hanger and attempted to unzip it with shaking hands.

Gently, Kelsi tugged the dress from Gabriella's hands as Christina and Sharpay left the room, shutting the door behind them as they went. Gabriella took a calming breath and forced herself to stop shaking as she slid the dress over her head and allowed Kelsi to zip it. As her hair fell down her back in a midnight waterfall, Gabriella turned to Kelsi, who held out her clutch and shoes.

"So, do I look okay?" Gabriella asked as she slipped on the black high heeled pumps and straightened, allowing Kelsi to study her before the small brunette nodded in appreciation.

"You look gorgeous. But why the change in dress?" She asked and Gabriella smiled, fingering the white material that had smoothed over her hip the way it had when she'd first worn it.

"Because this is what I wore when Troy took me out for my birthday." Gabriella replied softly, knowing that the significance of the dress would be wasted on Kelsi. Very little was known about what had happened on the night of her birthday and Gabriella had chosen to keep it that way because what had happened had been something that needed to be kept between her and Troy.

"Oh. Okay. Come on then, before Sharpay scares him off permanently." Gabriella laughed at Kelsi's warning and followed her friend out the door, grateful that she wasn't wobbling in her shoes and suddenly finding herself praying that she wouldn't fall over in them in front of Troy.

"…and you'll make sure you don't do anything to upset her, won't you Troy?" Gabriella ignored Sharpay's question as she stepped into the living room, coughing slightly to alert her mother, Sharpay and Troy to her presence.

She waited her hands behind her back, as both Troy and her mothers heads turned towards her. Gabriella met Troy's eyes and smiled at him nervously as he coughed again; rubbing the back of his neck as he stood up and his eyes ran over her.

"Wow." Troy breathed as he stepped over to her. Gabriella bit her lip and looked up at him, waiting for him to say something more. Before he could, Sharpay gasped.

"Oh my God, Gabi! You look fantastic!" She exclaimed and Troy let out an annoyed breath at the interruption. Gabriella smiled at him reassuringly, before she felt him take her hand and turn towards her mother.

"What time should I have her back by Christina?" He asked, shooting Sharpay an annoyed glance. Gabriella looked at her mother pleadingly, hoping that maybe her years of being fairly good to her mother would pay off now. Christina sighed before answering.

"Between eleven-thirty and midnight. It's not a school night so I don't see the point in you having her back by ten." Christina said and Gabriella closed her eyes in relief before mouthing a thank-you at her mother, who simply smiled serenely, looking forward to having a house to herself for a few hours.

"Sure thing Christina. You ready to go?" Troy asked and Gabriella nodded, squeezing his hand tightly before she spoke up.

"By Mama, see you Shar, Kels." Gabriella spoke quickly and neither Troy nor her waited for their replies, both heading for the door as quickly as they could without Sharpay saying something that could cause any sort of damage.

Gabriella giggled as they stepped out the front door, before breathing in deeply. Glancing around, she saw the car that Troy had been using since he'd been back and fell into step beside him as they headed towards where it was parked on the curb.

"So, Mr Bolton, where are we going?" She asked playfully as Troy pulled out the keys and unlocked the car. He grinned at her cheekily before opening the car door for her.

"That, Miss Montez, is for me to know and you to find out." Troy said as he handed her down into the car. Gabriella rolled her eyes as she carefully tucked herself into the car seat, tucking her skirt beneath her as Troy rounded the hood of the car and got in.

"Are we going to that little Italian restaurant you took me too on my birthday?" She asked and Troy glanced over at her, raising his eyebrows slightly as he smoothly guided the car away from the curb and onto the road.

"Possibly. You're actually really lucky I managed to get reservations there. When I called, the guy said that Friday was their busiest night." Troy said and Gabriella smiled, secretly amazed that Troy had remembered which restaurant they'd gone to for her birthday and wondering what else he remembered about that night.

"Uh-huh. So tell me, Wildcat, what else have you been up too?" The nickname slipped from her lips before she could catch herself, the way she had been ever since he'd come back. Troy glanced over at her before he focused back on the road, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"Not much. Basketball, college, working." He replied and Gabriella rolled her eyes, wondering why she'd asked before she spoke.

"That's it. No drunken exploits I need to hear about?" She asked teasingly as Troy took a right and slowed down slightly. Troy shook his head, chuckling slightly.

"No. Coach would kill me. As would everyone else. But, there's one thing I should probably tell you about." Troy said thoughtfully as he took another right. Gabriella cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh? And that is?" She asked and Troy shrugged as he pulled into a parking lot, behind where they were actually dining.

"I fell in love." Troy stated and all the oxygen left Gabriella's body before he continued. "I met this little girl named Sarah. She's about six and she's Coach's daughter." Gabriella's body relaxed at his explanation. For a moment, she'd honestly thought her worst nightmare had come true and that she really had misinterpreted his question.

"Isn't she a little young for you, Wildcat?" She teased as she searched for the bottom of her stomach that had dripped away in fear and Troy parked the car. He laughed before shaking his head.

"I'll ignore that." Troy said before he got out of the car. Gabriella took the two seconds alone to recompose herself slightly, reassuring herself that Troy hadn't met anyone and he really was talking about the his Coach's six year old daughter. Before she could reassure herself anymore, her door swung open.

She looked up to find Troy grinning down at her playfully. She narrowed her eyes as he offered her his hands and Gabriella, after a moments hesitation, accepted it allowing him to help her gracefully out of the car.

"Sarah, huh?" She asked she was standing up right and Troy nodded, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"Yep. Wait until you hear some of the stuff she's done to me." Troy said and Gabriella giggled slightly, suddenly aware of how close she and Troy were standing to each other and wondering what he was thinking when she looked up into his eyes, which were darker than they had been before.

"Um, should we go in?" Gabriella asked nervously and Troy shook his head at her words.

"In a minute. Brie, I want to tell you how gorgeous you look tonight. Sharpay kind of took the words right out of my mouth, but you really do look beautiful." Troy said softly, sincerely and Gabriella blushed at his compliment finally noticing that he was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a white collared shirt with a black blazer.

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." She murmured and Troy smirked, squeezing her hand and chuckling softly under his breath.

"Thank you. I'm glad you wore the dress though, it makes me think of your birthday." Troy said and Gabriella's blush deepened slightly as she realized that he had remembered what she had been wearing.

"Are we going in?" She asked and Troy looked at her for a second longer, as if trying to figure out if he should say something more before he nodded and led her towards the street that would take them around to the front of the restaurant.

---

They were tucked away into a corner of the homely restaurant that was decorated with vivid paintings of the Italian landscape and dark wooden furniture that sat starkly, but comfortably, against the dramatic red that adorned the walls.

Despite Gabriella's misgivings about spilling something down her front, something that had become more probably because of the color of the dress she was wearing, she relaxed slowly as Troy began to tell her about Sarah and all the mischief they had gotten themselves into. It became apparent to Gabriella that Troy had been telling the truth when he'd said that he'd fallen in love; the way he spoke about the little girl was enough for something warm to glow in Gabriella's stomach as she looked across the table at him, trying to absorb everything he was as they ate their way through garlic bread and their main meals.

Gabriella fiddled with her spoon as Troy finished recounting his very first experience on court before she asked a question that had been taunting her ever since she'd sat down.

"Troy? Why didn't you email or call me?" She asked quietly and Troy froze slightly at her question. Gabriella waited, holding her breath slightly as she prayed that he wouldn't use the excuse that he had been busy.

"Because I couldn't think of anything to say." Troy replied innocently and Gabriella blinked at him, unsure whether or not he was joking. How could he have not known what to say to her? He was sitting opposite her describing his college experience with so much animation she'd been giggling ever since he'd started.

"I – what? Why?" She asked and Troy shrugged, spinning the spoon around as he stared down at it.

"Probably because there was so much I wanted to tell you but all of it seemed completely irrelevant at the time. And then, as time went on, I kind of just figured you'd forgotten all about me and it would just be awkward calling or emailing you out of the blue." Troy said quietly and Gabriella blinked, wondering how his answer could be so similar to her own with him even hearing her side of the story.

"Me too. Except, I was so shy. I wasn't really sure whether you really wanted to or not and then when I did get around to it, I couldn't think of anything that you would want to hear." Gabriella admitted quietly and smiled a little sadly as she thought about all the time they had lost being too afraid to say anything.

"Did you speak to Katie?" Troy asked suddenly and Gabriella sighed before nodding at his question.

"Yep. She basically gave me her blessing but then…" Gabriella trailed off as she stared at Troy, who was looking at her curiously.

"Are you okay? You've got the most interesting expression on your face." He asked and Gabriella shrugged, remembering her sister's parting shot and wondering if Troy would answer her question.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gabriella nodded taking a sip of water as before she lost her nerve. "It's just that when I was talking to Katie, you know, telling her about how you asked me out, she said that I might find out something about you that I didn't know before. Do you know what she meant?" Gabriella asked and then grew afraid that she'd offended him as Troy stared at her for several long moments, silently contemplating her and giving her the impression that he knew what Katie was talking about and didn't want to tell her.

"Well, I didn't father a secret love child, if that's what you're worried about." Troy joked and Gabriella rolled her eyes as Troy signaled for the check.

"You're not going to tell me are you?" She asked as the waiter came over with the check. Troy looked at her, studying her curiously before he sighed and shook his head.

"No. I'm going to tell you, just not here." Gabriella glanced up at him in shock as Troy threw down some bills before he stood up, offering her his hand. Gabriella took it hesitantly and followed him out the door, quietly thanking the waiter for their meal.

"Where are we going?" Gabriella asked and then immediately lost any train of coherent thought at the boyish grin Troy threw over his shoulder at her, his eyes twinkling brightly before as they rounded the street corner.

"You'll see Brie, you'll see." He murmured and Gabriella bit her lip and looked down shyly as butterflies erupted in her stomach and a strange excitement coursed through her, letting her know that something important was about to happen.

* * *

A/N: Oooh, so I wonder where they're going now? I'll attempt to update tomorrow, if not, it'll be up the day after that. I hope everyone enjoyed because I'm loving writing this! The answers you all seek will be told next chapter!


	7. Desert Secrets

Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: Okay, so here is the chapter we have all been waiting for and I can only pray that I pull this off! I've been planning this for a while and I only hope that it turns out as good as what I've imagined it to be. I'm glad that everyone loved last chapter, personally, I did too. It was nice to just write something light before this chapter, although, I did have to clear up some things, like why Troy hadn't written to Gabriella last chapter. Anyway, without further ado, please enjoy this chapter of 'Your Anything'.

* * *

_**Your Anything**_

**Chapter Seven: Desert Secrets  
**

_Gabriella sighed blissfully as she leaned her head on Troy's shoulder and gazed up at the brilliant array of glittering diamonds, winking against the midnight blue backdrop. Her birthday, as far as she was concerned, was the best one she had ever had. _

_Troy had meticulously planned everything, from the small chocolate cake that the restaurant staff had presented her to where they were now. Sitting in the back of his truck, a blanket spread out beneath them, in the middle of the desert that skirted Albuquerque and gazing up at the stars that weren't obscured by the pollution or lights of the city. It was such a perfect way to end the night that Gabriella closed her eyes for a minute and memorized everything from Troy's hard chest beneath her cheek to the smells and sounds of the desert._

_"What are you thinking about, Brie?" Troy's teasing voice made her smile and Gabriella opened her eyes, raising herself up slightly so she could look down at him._

_"I was thinking about how this was the best birthday that I've ever had. You've done well, Wildcat." She replied humorously, secretly enjoying the way his new nickname, one she'd come up with only an hour before, fell off her lips. _

_"Thanks. So I take it you like your presents?" He asked and Gabriella's smiled widened to a grin as she nodded her head enthusiastically. Glancing over to the side of the truck and only being able to make out the outline of the stuffed white tiger that he'd brought her. _

_"I love them. But you didn't have to get me the bracelet, it looks so expensive." Gabriella blushed as she watched Troy's eyebrow rise, the full moon above them giving her enough light to see his expression clearly. _

_Gently, Troy reached across and picked up her hand, running his thumb over the white gold links that curved their way around several sapphires, the stones glinting slightly in the moonlight as he entwined their fingers and shrugged. _

_"Nah. I did have to get you something. You've been so…good to me, I guess, through out this year and you deserved it." Troy replied, squeezing her and Gabriella blushed at the words, leaning down slightly so she could look him in the eyes. _

_"Listening to you rant about my sister hardly counts as being good to you," Gabriella said teasingly, unaware that Troy's eyes had darkened slightly as she leaned in closer. He grinned a little at the words. _

_"No. Listening to me period counts as being good to me. Watching 'Family Guy' with me after a rough day counts as being good to me." Gabriella froze as Troy's other hand rose and brushed away a strand of hair. "Everything you've done with me or for me has been you being good to me Brie. Everything." Troy murmured, gently running his knuckles down her cheek and listening in appreciation as her breathing hitched slightly. _

_Silence descended on them. Both were frozen in the position that Troy had created and Gabriella was sure that he could hear her heart beating at a million miles an hour. Why was he so close to her? Why was he looking at her like that? Why couldn't she move? Why did she feel all tingly? _

_Gabriella surprised herself when she realized that she didn't particularly want to move nor did she mind how close he was to her or even the way he was looking at her. She didn't want to be selfish and she didn't want to hurt her sister but Gabriella couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Troy tried to kiss her. Would it be so terrible if she kissed him, out here in the middle of the desert where no-one would have to know what had happened between them? She just…wanted to know what it would be like to kiss him and, though she knew it was wrong; Gabriella couldn't help but think that one kiss wouldn't hurt. For her birthday. That was all it would be, a birthday kiss. She had one wish didn't she? Couldn't she use it, right now? _

_"Gabriella?" She was startled from her raging thoughts at Troy's low, husky voice. She blinked and looked down at him._

_"Hmm?" She murmured, still trying to figure out how bad it would be if she did kiss him. Not that she would be very good at it but she wouldn't mind if Troy was her first kiss._

_"I know I have a girlfriend but I'm going to kiss you anyway. Because I want to." He murmured and Gabriella's eyes widened in shock before he leaned up and carefully caught her in a kiss that Gabriella could do nothing but surrender to. _

_Carefully, she raised a hand to his shoulder as his lips coaxed hers apart allowing him to explore her mouth gently, sending shivers down her spine as his hand cupped her cheek and held her in place. Thought left Gabriella's mind and for the very first time, she understood what it was to simply feel. She felt her own emotions for Troy, swell dangerously in her chest, reminding her she felt something much more potent and lovely for him than simple friendship but she knew that this kiss was something that could never invite more. It was beautiful and lovely and all Gabriella could do was enjoy it, knowing that tomorrow she would have to watch Katie kiss Troy instead. _

_After what felt like an eternity, Troy pulled away from her, drawing in a deep breath before he kissed her one last time._

_"For luck." He murmured as her eyes slowly drifted open and Gabriella gazed at him wordlessly for a moment, wondering how he had known what she had been wondering and then sighing as her mind flashed to Katie, sitting at home, sulking because her little sister was out with her boyfriend._

_"Troy…my sister." She whispered and felt his hand tighten around hers before he blew out a breath._

_"I know." He murmured and Gabriella smiled a little sadly as she lowered herself back down to his side, snuggling close as she realized that tomorrow morning when she woke up, she and Troy would have to forget about the kiss and go back to being friends. _

_It was a thought that made Gabriella's heart ache but she knew that there was nothing she could do about it. Instead, she pushed it away, turning her head slightly to press a kiss to his chest before she settled again and gazed up at the brilliant Albuquerque sky._

Gabriella knew where they were heading before Troy had even taken the turn off to the spot he'd taken her on her birthday. She thought about making a joke about how he was taking her out there to kill her and then realized that it probably wouldn't have been a good idea, considering how serious he had become as they'd driven out of the restaurant car park and onto the main highway out of Albuquerque. Instead, she'd watched him as he'd driven. Finding pleasure in just watching him drive, admiring the curve of his jaw and the way his mouth seemed set into a serious, straight line incredibly appealing. Even when she'd realized he knew she was watching him, Gabriella hadn't been able to tear her eyes away from his profile. Though she had blushed when he'd reached across and laced their hands together.

Now, they were propped up against the windshield, on the hood of his car. A blanket was spread across them, giving Gabriella the impression that he'd been planning to come out to their spot in the desert, even though he'd made it seem like a spontaneous decision.

"So, Wildcat, how much thought did you _really_ have to put into this date?" Gabriella asked her tone low and teasing. She felt Troy's chest vibrate as he chuckled and grinned slightly.

"Not much. I figured you wouldn't really mind the trip down memory lane. Besides, even if we'd gone bowling or something, we would have ended up here." Troy said, waving his hand vaguely at the desert and Gabriella laughed, snuggling closer as she realized she didn't really mind that he hadn't put much thought into the date. It was enough that it was a date.

Gabriella giggled slightly as she felt Troy tracing something on her bare arm, the arm that was sprawled across his stomach tightening slightly as he did it again and it once again tickled. Before she could tell him to stop, Troy spoke again.

"So, there are some things I need to clear up with you." His voice was low and Gabriella tensed automatically before she sighed.

"Is it going to make what Katie said to me on the phone the other day less ambiguous?" She asked and Troy chuckled at her question, rubbing her arm gently before he straightened up a little.

"Yes. But I have to tell you face to face as much as I love having you lying next to me, I need to see your face when I'm talking." Troy said and Gabriella groaned before reluctantly sitting up, turning her body towards him as he ran a hand nervously through his hair.

"Okay, what do you have to tell me, Wildcat?" She asked gently, feeling the nerves that had taunted her earlier that evening slam back into her gut as she looked up into his serious face. Troy reached over and took her hand, entwining their fingers before he sighed.

"Well…you know how you asked me the other day why Katie and I broke up?" Gabriella's brow furrowed slightly at his question, not really sure what he was talking about before she nodded slowly.

"Yeah." She said slowly, unsure where this was going. Troy squeezed her hand reassuringly before he continued.

"I kind of didn't tell you everything." Gabriella's furrowed brow deepened slightly in confusion. "I know I said there were different factors in the break-up and it's true, there was. But what I didn't tell you that you were one of them. Probably the major one actually." Gabriella froze at the confession, if that's what it could be called. She considered pulling away from him, not wanting to hear what he had to say and then she took a deep breath.

"What?" She breathed it out and Troy shrugged, clearing his throat nervously before he continued speaking.

"Yeah. It was about three weeks after your birthday and she asked about how it went. I kind of lied to her and said that it went okay. She called me on the lie." Troy said and Gabriella stared at him, grateful for the moonlight that was lighting up his face. "I didn't tell her we kissed but…she knew that something had happened and I wasn't talking about it. Not to mention, she'd been around you enough to know that you were too quiet around her." Troy stopped, as if he was gathering his thoughts and Gabriella felt something squeezing at her heart as she realized she didn't know where this was going.

"What happened?" She asked, not sure if she wanted to hear about Troy and her sisters break-up but unable to help herself. She needed to know where this was going. She had to find out what her sister was talking about.

"We argued. Loudly, actually. About you and I accidentally let out that I didn't like her anymore. She flew off the handle," Troy smiled wryly at the memory, "she didn't throw things or anything. She just screamed a lot of things that I can't remember because I could barely understand her. But she knew that…" Troy trailed off, as if he had suddenly realized what he had been about to say and Gabriella couldn't understand why he hadn't been able to continue before she prompted him.

"But she knew what?" She asked, squeezing his hand tightly and Troy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before he spoke again.

"Brie, I doubt you're fully going to get it. A lot of things happened in the argument that broke your sister and I up but the most important thing was you and how she made me promise to stay away from you." Troy said and Gabriella's mouth fell open at his words, unsure why her sister had told Troy to stay away from her.

"But why would she do that? Why would she make us sneak around for an entire year just because you broke up with her?" Gabriella asked, feeling completely confused and wanting more than anything for Troy to tell her what he hadn't when he'd trailed off before.

Troy was silent for a moment and the silence stretched on for an eternity as Gabriella waited desperately for him to answer her questions, unable to think about anything but what he was trying to tell her and unsure what it was he wanted to say.

"Because I told her I love you." Gabriella stopped breathing at Troy's words; he didn't give her time to formulate an answer before he continued. "I still don't know how I went from liking your sister to being in love with you, but I did it and, even before I kissed you on your birthday, it was so hard to not tell you. Having Katie as a girlfriend stopped me from doing anything with you up until your birthday and then I kissed you." Troy shrugged, as his eyes far away as if he was lost in everything that he had gone through only a few years before.

"It was so good. Kissing you like that made me want to just be with you and your sister picked up on that. Before I could even tell her what had happened, she was yelling that we were over and that she'd personally make sure I would never see you again if she ever saw me near you. I didn't exactly listen to her, though." Troy broke off with a chuckle before he sighed. "I spent a year telling myself that it was okay being just your friend, despite the fact that all I wanted to be to you was to be your boyfriend. I kind of convinced myself that I could be your anything, as long as I was something and then I went away to college." Troy paused and Gabriella realized very quickly how vulnerable he was right now. He was telling her the truth, telling her everything she had ever wanted to hear and she was sitting there silently, holding his hand as she tried to comprehend everything he was saying.

Taking a deep breath, she tentatively lifted the hand that wasn't being held tightly in her own and traced his jaw. She didn't realize that her fingers were trembling as she tried to think of a way to tell him how much she felt for him and how he had always made her feel that way.

"I think I knew I love you before you kissed me on my birthday." Gabriella stopped for a moment, unsure how to continue after the confession. Gathering some courage, she found herself continuing. "There was so much I felt for you after I first met you and then…" Gabriella struggled for words, unsure how to finish what she was saying as Troy turned his head and pressed his lips against the hand that was resting on the side of his face.

"Then you remembered we couldn't." Troy said quietly and Gabriella nodded, unsure how he had known what she was going to say but grateful he had spoken up.

"Yeah. Even when you kissed me on my birthday, we both knew we couldn't. I just kind of wish that-" Troy cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

"That we weren't so sensible and took every chance we had back then to-" Gabriella burst into laughter at Troy's cheeky tone even as she slapped his chest for saying what she'd figured he was going to say.

"Troy!" She exclaimed and he chuckled, apparently finding it amusing the way her mind had automatically filled in what he was going to say.

"What? You just automatically assumed I was going to say something dirty! I _was_ going to say-" Gabriella cut him off again, giggling as she hit his chest once more.

"I don't want to know! How did this conversation go from me trying to tell you how I feel to you trying to make dirty innuendos?" She asked incredulously and Troy shrugged, apparently not as curious as she was about the sudden change in their conversation.

"Probably because we could. Besides, I know how you feel about me. You just told me." Troy pointed out carefully and Gabriella blushed, looking away from him as she realized that she had, indeed, told him how she felt.

"But…how can my feelings not change even after a year of not seeing you?" She asked softly and Troy shrugged, shifting slightly, so she was much closer to him.

"Same way mine didn't. I thought about you too much while I was gone to even think about my feelings for you changing. Which isn't a bad thing, all things considering." Troy said, pushing a curl behind her ear as Gabriella realized that he was steadily getting closer to her.

She nodded, knowing that he was right and knowing that she had waited too long to tell him how she felt. She'd waited too long to question herself, and him, about what was happening right now. So she wasn't going too. She was going to enjoy this. She was going to enjoy her time with him right now.

"Gabriella?" She blinked as he spoke and froze when she realized how close he was. "I'm going to kiss you now. Just so you know." Gabriella didn't know how to reply, so she didn't. Instead, she waited as Troy slid his hand into her dark curls and pulled her lips down to his.

He kissed her slowly, the way he had three years before on her birthday. Gabriella slid the hand on his face down to his neck as she found him coaxing a response from her. Her lips parted and his tongue teased as Gabriella sank into the kiss, the knowledge that kissing him was no longer wrong spurring her to press closer to him.

Troy pulled back as she caught her breath. Gabriella's eyes drifted open cautiously and she smiled at him shyly, waiting for him to say something when Troy let out a breath, kissing her again.

"I love you." He stated and Gabriella's breath caught in her throat at the words. He'd said it before, in his explanation but now he was saying it to her. The statement was there, out in the open, spoken with so much honest emotion that Gabriella bit her lip.

"I love you too." She whispered and Troy's hand in her hair tightened before he relaxed, smiling at her as she leaned down and kissed him softly once more before she lowered herself back down onto his chest, deciding to savor this right now with Troy before he had to take her home.

---

They'd both been silent through out the car ride back to her place. Gabriella had been contemplating what had happened in the middle of the desert and Troy had simply been driving, his hand caught firmly between both of hers.

It felt…like all her dreams had come true at once. She still wasn't sure if she was meant to be reacting more to the fact that she and Troy were now much, much more than friends but she wanted to stay silent in case the magic that had been woven in the silent desert would be broken if she voiced any thought she had. Instead, she entertained herself by playing with Troy's hand, knowing that he was a competent driver with one hand as well as two. She felt Troy slow the car down and turn and then she frowned when Troy cut the engine and she looked up, realizing that she was back at her house.

"Come on, I promised your mom between eleven-thirty and twelve. Its eleven-forty-five." Troy said and Gabriella reluctantly let go of his hand so he could get out. She waited patiently, knowing Troy would chastise her if she tried to get out by herself. The door opened and Gabriella giggled slightly as he offered her hand and she let him help her out, the way she had at the restaurant.

Silently, Troy shut the door and Gabriella waited as he locked the car before they began walking up the path to her front door. Before he could step up onto her porch, Gabriella pulled at his hand.

"Troy? What happens now?" She found herself asking suddenly and watched as he chuckled. Gabriella found that there was nothing funny about what she had asked and instead frowned at him.

Before she could ask why he was laughing at her, Troy pulled her in for a kiss. One that was designed to relax her. Gabriella closed her eyes as she kissed him back before Troy pulled away from her.

"We go out. We have fun. You call your sister and tell her that you are officially a girlfriend. My girlfriend, to be exact." Troy murmured and Gabriella blushed again, leaning up to kiss him before she leaned her forehead against his chest.

"And then?" She asked and felt his lips press against her hair gently.

"A two-part question. How 'bout we just go from here? See where this all ends up?" Troy asked and Gabriella found herself nodding, knowing that Troy wouldn't let her do anything she didn't want.

"Okay." She nodded and Troy kissed her forehead before the porch light blinked and Gabriella knew her mother wanted her inside.

Reluctantly, Gabriella pulled away, backing away from him as he held onto her hand before he let it go as she finally reached her porch steps. She turned away; Gabriella suddenly realized that Troy hadn't really answered her question about what Katie had said. She turned on the porch.

"Troy?" She called out and Troy turned around, raising his eyebrows at her. "You didn't answer my question." She pointed out and Troy chuckled, his hands still in his pockets as he shook his head.

"Sure I did. The answer was she knew what I felt about you, long before I did." Troy replied and Gabriella's eyes widened slightly as Troy winked at her before he walked around the hood of his car.

Gabriella watched as he got in the car and she waved as he drove off. Watching him drive, Gabriella tried to figure out what happens next before she suddenly realized something. It didn't matter anymore. Troy was hers. After three years, Troy was finally hers and Gabriella found that, above everything, nothing else mattered but Troy loving her, the way she loved him.

* * *

A/N: Well, how was that? Did it go okay? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it and it was okay!


	8. Your Everything

Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: Well, sadly, this story is over. I was going to post this three days but FF was acting up and I freaked. I was like, 'my outlet! It's gone!'. So I'm very glad that its back up and I can read! Anyway, its the end of YA but not the end of DF or Memories. I think I'm going to finish them before I go back to Still Frame. Anyway, thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter even if it is a really long chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

_**Your Anything**_

**Chapter Eight: Your Everything**

_The conference centre was brightly lit and filled with conversations that consisted of fond memories and embarrassing moments. Gabriella watched as the various members of the Bolton family laugh and talk and joke amongst each other while she sat next to their crowning achievement and tried not to laugh at the running commentary she was receiving from Troy on every family member that walked past._

_She hadn't really thought when he'd asked her to come to his family reunion at the Hilton Hotel. She'd just said yes and had been amused when his eyes had widened in shock before she'd remembered that they were going to have to come up with an elaborate lie to throw Katie off because if her sister knew that Gabriella had agreed to go with Troy three weeks after the two had broken up, there would be hell to pay. But then again, Katie really had no right to stop her from going somewhere with Troy anymore. _

_So she could assume the guilty feeling in her stomach had more to do with what had happened on her birthday then lying to her sister about tonight. _

_Not that she'd been thinking about that night on the back of his truck, where they'd been alone in the desert, moonlight shining down upon them as they kissed on her birthday. No, she hadn't given it a second thought because they'd both known that he had been with her sister. Until, of course, they'd broken up and now she was aware, maybe too aware, that Troy was very single and spending a very large amount of time with her. A very large, questionable amount of time with her. _

"_Okay, so see Brody? Dark hair, leaning over the girl just over there?" Gabriella jerked back from her thoughts as Troy leaned in to her ear. She scanned the conference room that held Troy's family and nodded when her eyes latched onto the person he was talking about._

"_Yeah. Isn't that your cousin's girlfriend, Jessica though?" She asked looking back at him and Troy shrugged._

"_Probably. Anyway, Brody wanted to be a dolphin when he was about five and on his twenty-first birthday, that dream was re-realized," Troy muttered into her ear and Gabriella furrowed her brow, "once it was re-realized, he was extremely drunk when he realized it, he stripped in front of, like, a hundred people to dive into the decorative pool that was in the centre of the restaurant Uncle Sam and Aunt Lillian had rented out for him." Gabriella snorted, though she unsuccessfully tried to hide it as one of Troy's Great Aunts stalked by. _

"_Naked and drunk? Didn't he start drowning?" She asked quietly as Troy pulled back slightly to look at her. _

"_Nah. The water was really cold apparently and he went from extremely drunk to extremely sober in about ten seconds flat and it took everyone turning away for him to get out of the pool. He gave us a good show for about ten seconds before that though. He really can mimic a dolphin if he puts his mind to it." Troy said and then added, "I videoed the entire thing too." And Gabriella burst into giggles. _

"_Oh Troy, how old were you when it happened?" She whispered and he shrugged, reaching over her to pick up his coke that was slowly beginning to become watery from being left for so long._

"_Um, I was thirteen and had only just figured out how funny drunken people are." He slanted her a look as placed the coke back down and draped his arm over the back of her chair. "Have you ever been drunk?" He asked inquiringly as Gabriella shifted closer to him, unaware that it looked like she was snuggling into him to some of Troy's family members who were watching the two curiously. _

"_What? No! Have you?" She asked, poking his chest as she looked up at him in mock outrage. Troy shrugged._

_  
"Can't sa-Nan! How are you?" Gabriella forced herself not to giggle at the way Troy interrupted his sentence at the appearance of a small, wiry woman whose hair was rapidly turning from gray to white and whose face told a story of character that was hidden in the lines of her face. _

"_I'm fine." She sniffed, her blue eyes, exactly like Troy's Gabriella thought suddenly, flashing towards her. "I probably would have been better if my favorite grandson decided he could be bothered to leave the pretty thing sitting next to him and came over to say hello to his old Nan, earlier." She said pointedly and Gabriella blushed as Troy rubbed the back of his neck as he chuckled slightly._

"_Sorry. But I was protecting Gabriella's from mom; I figured if I entertained her she wouldn't be fed to the wolves." He said and his grandmother's eyes flashed in amusement._

"_You mean you didn't want her to be charmed by Dolphin-Boy over there." Gabriella choked back a laugh as his grandmother nodded towards Brody. The old woman's eyes flashed to her face again and the eyes crinkled. _

"_Well? Aren't you going to introduce us?" She asked pointedly and Troy blushed slightly before he coughed and shifted in his seat._

"_Nan, this is my…friend Gabriella Montez," Gabriella raised her eyebrow at the way he paused on 'friend' as he continued. "Brie, this is my grandmother, Anita Bolton, she's…the most awesome person I know." Troy said and Gabriella's mouth tilted in a soft, warm smile at the love that shined through in his eyes and voice at his description of his grandmother and the way his grandmothers eyes lit up with fondness at his words. _

"_Nice to meet you Mrs Bolton," Gabriella said politely, holding out her hand for Anita to shake. She was surprised at the firmness of Anita's grip when the old woman took her hand but hid it as Anita nodded at her._

"_Lovely to meet you Miss Montez." She said and turned to Troy. "Boy, can you spare an old lady your seat and go and get her a drink while you're at it?" She asked and Gabriella felt his arm tighten around her before he nodded._

"_Sure Nan." He replied, nodding. Gabriella turned to him as he drained his coke, wondering if he needed her to go with him to help him with the drinks. _

_Before she could ask, he'd leaned over, pressed a kiss to her cheek and stood up. "Okay, Brie do you want another lemonade?" He asked as he draped the arm that had been around her over his grandmothers shoulders._

"_Sure. Do you-" Anita interrupted her before she could, shaking her head as Troy grinned down at her. _

"_No, girlie, you can stay with me and keep this old woman entertained. I'll have a lemonade as well." Anita patted Troy's hand. Gabriella watched with a thrill of delight as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his grandmother's cheek._

"_Sure, old woman," he looked up at Gabriella with a twinkle in his eye, "you tell Brie all about the ranch and I'll be back." He said, winking at Gabriella before he let go of his grandmother, who settled herself in his vacant seat, and turned on his heel to weave his way through his various cousins, aunts and uncles._

"_So, Gabriella, it's nice to finally meet the girl who's got my boys knickers in a twist." Anita said and Gabriella jumped._

"_Oh, no, we're just friends." Gabriella corrected her quickly, afraid that there was too much truth to Anita's words to deny. Anita's eyebrow rose and Gabriella was struck by how much Troy was like her as the old woman's eyes darkened slightly before she let out a sigh._

"_Well then, girlie, if you're not together now, I'll give it another year, maybe two, before that boy of mine comes to his senses and admits he's got the hots for you." Gabriella wasn't sure what she should address first. Anita's use of 'got the hots', something that seemed strange coming from the small woman's mouth or the entire prediction because it seemed so utterly absurd right now. _

_So she decided to not address any of it. Instead, she coughed into her hand before smiling at Troy's grandmother. _

"_So, Troy said you lived on a ranch?" She asked, wishing desperately for Troy to return as Anita nodded slowly. _

If possible, Gabriella's goofy smile spread as she thought about Anita Bolton. The eighty-something woman who single handedly ran the Bolton ranch out in the middle of the Montana wilderness and who called her Troy every week to get updates on the boy she referred to as her 'favorite grandson'. Out of all the relatives she'd met at that Bolton family reunion, Anita was the one she remembered the most and the one, who, judging by Troy's, had mattered the most to him. Anita had entertained her and Troy for nearly two hours with stories about Troy when he visited the ranch and she had to look after him. Gabriella's impression of Troy's grandmother had been a witty, intelligent woman, hardened by the obstacles life had thrown at her and with a heart big enough to fit all her grandchildren but with special spot for Troy.

She'd also been the most astute person Gabriella had ever met too and Gabriella still found it creepy she'd predicted what would happen between her and Troy.

Not that she was even going to acknowledge Sharpay's insistence all along that there was definitely something between them. The blonde was already going to have a field day when Gabriella told her that she was officially a girlfriend and she didn't need one more thing to squeal about.

Grinning at the thought of Sharpay's face when Gabriella innocently let it drop that she was Troy's girlfriend, Gabriella finished tying her hair up in a ponytail and headed downstairs to where her mother was sitting in the kitchen, drinking her morning coffee and examining the newspaper.

As she bounded down the stairs, she frowned when, as she reached the bottom step, she could hear her mother talking to someone. At first she assumed her mother was on the phone and then heard the person reply to her mother's question.

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she realized who was sitting in her kitchen and knew that the goofy grin on her face had spread even more as she stepped into the kitchen and paused as she watched her boyfriend talk to her mother.

He was dressed casually enough, his jeans hanging low on his hips and the white t-shirt he wore fitting nicely over the contours of his body. He was leaning against the counter, one foot crossed over the other, coffee in hand as he answered her mother with a grin. Just watching him caused something lovely to glow in her and Gabriella stepped into the kitchen, coughing gently to alert them to her presence.

"Well, isn't this a nice surprise." She commented, shooting a pointed look at her mother as she stepped over towards Troy. Christina either didn't understand the look or wanted to linger a little bit longer to watch the two, because she smiled at her daughter as Troy's hand snaked out and pulled her closer.

"Good morning Gabi," Gabriella smiled at her mother as Troy pressed a kiss to her hair and offered her his coffee.

"Morning babe." He whispered and Gabriella blushed before she replied to both him and her mother.

"Morning Mom. Hey Troy." She accepted the mug her offered her and took a sip, allowing the slightly bitter liquid to wash down her throat before smiling up at Troy, who tugged the mug back and set it down on the counter her was leaning on.

"Troy's offered to give you a ride to school today." Christina watched the two carefully as she spoke, trying to fight a small smile as she watched Gabriella settle herself against Troy comfortably, as if she'd been doing it for years, and knew that it was something she would have to get used too, something telling her that this relationship would last a long time.

"Oh? Thanks, are you going to bring me home too?" Gabriella leaned her head back onto his shoulder so she could look up at Troy. He nodded with a grin, absently beginning to rub her stomach gently.

"Yep. You are coming to the muck around game after school, aren't you?" Troy looked down at her and Gabriella frowned, not knowing what he was talking about before her eyes widened slightly.

"You mean that mixed seniors-juniors game? Is that on today?" She asked, trying to remember if he'd mentioned it too her at all over the weekend. Troy shook his head slightly, amusement dancing in his eyes at her question.

"Yes. Everyone's going apparently." He said innocently and Gabriella rolled her eyes before she glanced at her mother, who nodded her assent before she sighed.

"Of course I am. Does this mean I get to see you all sweaty and gross?" She asked and Troy burst out laughing as Christina cleared her throat delicately.

"I'm going to work. Troy, make sure you take care of her. I'll see you tonight Gabi." Gabriella nodded as her mother spoke, not bothering to take her eyes off Troy who was looking down at her in amusement.

"I will Miss Montez. Bye." Troy replied and they both waited patiently for the sound of the front door shutting and Christina's car starting before Gabriella turned slightly and Troy leaned down to kiss her.

Gabriella smiled against his lips before she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck as she leisurely kissed him back. He pulled away gently before kissing her again.

"Hi girlfriend," he murmured and Gabriella managed to hold back a giggle before she kissed him again.

"Cheesy boyfriend." She said and Troy chuckled and Gabriella's stomach twisted at the sound. She liked making him laugh. She liked kissing him too but making him laugh was somewhere on the list of things she liked to make him do.

"You know you love me." He replied and Gabriella blushed at the look in his eyes as he said it before she nodded.

"Duh. If I didn't love you there is no way we would be stan-" Gabriella frowned as her phone went off. Before she could let go of Troy's neck and reach into her back pocket for the loud object, Troy's hand had already pulled it out.

"Hello, Gabriella's phone." He answered, eyeing his girlfriend amusedly as her mouth dropped open in shock and outrage.

"Troy? Why the hell are you answering Gabriella's phone?" Troy's eyebrows rose at his ex-girlfriends impatient voice.

"Now, Katie-Kat, do you seriously have no manners?" Troy failed to not sound amused at Katie's snort and the widening of Gabriella eyes. Before she could snatch the phone away from him, Troy sidled out of her grasp as he waited for Katie's reply.

"Ha, ha, funny boy." She snorted and Troy grinned as he took another step away from Gabriella who was glaring at him now.

"One of my many charms. Hey, when Gabriella's eyes get all squinty does it mean she's mad or embarrassed?" He asked and Katie laughed at his question.

"Probably both. Seriously Troy, why are you answering Gabs' phone?" Katie asked and Troy's grin suddenly turned wicked, giving Gabriella the impression that Katie was about to find out what had gone on since she'd last spoken to her. Frantically, she waved her hands in a desperate attempt to tell him to stop when Troy spoke.

"Because I was kissing her when you rang. You know, the way I kiss all my girlfriends." The shriek had Troy laughing at the excitement Katie's. Still laughing, he offered the phone to Gabriella.

"It's for you." He grinned cheekily and Gabriella hit his chest as she snatched the phone from him and pressed it to her ear.

"Yes Katie, Troy's my boyfriend. I'll call you later. I have to kill him now." Gabriella snapped her phone shut before Troy could even react to her words. Before he could dodge her, Gabriella had launched her fist at him and hit him square in the chest.

"My eyes do _not_ get all squinty!" She exclaimed heatedly and Troy burst into laughter. Not surprised that she wasn't mad because of him answering her phone but because of his comment about her eyes.

"Of course they don't." Troy agreed amusedly, catching her fist before she attempted to hurt him seriously. Gabriella eyed him, unsure about why he was agreeing with her so quickly before her eyes narrowed.

"Are you trying not to be condescending?" She snapped at him and Troy shrugged before grinning.

"Your eyes are all squinty now; I guess that means you're angry." Troy said and Gabriella's mouth dropped open in shock at his words before she could form a response, Troy spoke again quickly. "Come on we have to go if you want to be on time for school." Gabriella's eyes widened and she instantly forgot how annoyed she was at her boyfriend.

"Damn it. I'll be right back, okay?" Gabriella didn't bother to wait for Troy's reply as she tore up the stairs to grab her bag.

---

When they arrived at East High; Gabriella knew she'd been had. She'd been completely and utterly fooled into thinking that she was going to be late by her boyfriend who was watching her, waiting for it to sink in.

She stared at the nearly empty student car park, before turning to her boyfriend who looked like he was fighting laughter before she turned back to the parking lot. She stared at it for a little longer before amusement began to build within her. Amusement that combined with indignation at being tricked.

"Troy!" She exclaimed suddenly as the indignation won against the amusement for the time being. Troy burst into laughter and before Gabriella could even scold him for laughing at her, he had opened the door and jumped out of the car.

Huffing, Gabriella followed him quickly, slamming the car door as Troy attempted to round the back of the car and slip past her. He almost succeeded as well, until she caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't you try and sneak away from me, Troy Bolton!" Gabriella exclaimed, unable to contain the giggle that escaped her throat at the shocked expression on his face, which quickly slipped into a mischievous expression.

"Who said I was trying to sneak away? Running is much more effective." Gabriella reacted to his movements rather than his words as Troy took off towards the entrance to East High. As she sprinted after him, she cursed at her choice of black flats, they were being more of a hindrance than a help as she attempted to catch up to him.

Glancing up from her feet, which were beginning to bother her slightly as they slapped heavily against the concrete, Gabriella only had to time to squeal loudly as Troy stopped suddenly. He turned and even as she attempted to slow down, caught her around the waist and pulled her up against him. Before Gabriella could say anything, Troy kissed her.

Her arms wove around his neck as he kissed her slowly, as if savoring a moment she had yet to understand. Gabriella felt the now familiar swoop of butterflies in her stomach as Troy broke the kiss, his eyes focusing on hers as his forehead rested against her own.

"Do you know," he murmured, sliding his hand up her back, "how long I've wanted to kiss you in front of East High?" Gabriella's hand slipped up into his hair as she held him against her tightly.

"Three or four years." She replied softly. "About as long as I have." She added for good measure, smiling as he grinned, his hand settling back on the small of her back again and his lips finding hers again.

For a moment, they both just stood there, exchanging gentle kisses that Troy was beginning to draw out until something caught Gabriella's eye. Dodging Troy's kiss, Gabriella barely noticed the slightly affronted look on his face as she gazed over his shoulder in wonder.

"You know, it's not very good for a guy's ego when the girl he's kissing finds something more fascinating then him." Troy commented quietly in her ear. Gabriella glanced back at him, her eyes sparkling with humor and tinted with disbelief. Before she glanced back over his shoulder, her eyes narrowing slightly. Troy, curious to see what she was looking at, turned his head, eyes scanning for something of interest, before they finally landed on what she was looking at.

Troy's burst of laughter caused Gabriella to jump and the couple standing only a few meters behind them to break apart, stunned at the interruption.

"Woo-hoo, Theatre Boy, I didn't know you had it in you!" Gabriella barely heard the obnoxious comment fly from Troy's mouth. Instead, she openly stared at Ryan and Kelsi, who were hastily wiping their mouths as Troy continued to chuckle.

Staring at them, Gabriella wasn't quite sure what to address first as Ryan took a careful step away from Kelsi. Should she hit Troy to make him stop laughing, yell 'I knew it! I knew it!' loudly, jumping up and down for effect or should she demand an explanation? Gabriella barely realized that she'd furrowed her brow, until she felt Troy place a kiss against the side of her head and run his hand up and down her back once.

"So, you guys, how long have you been a couple?" Troy asked casually. Gabriella stared at them, wondering if they were going to deny it and then realized that there was no way they could deny it when they'd been caught red handed.

"A while. How long have you guys been a couple?" Ryan asked quickly and Gabriella wondered if Troy was going to fall for his attempt at turning it on them.

Apparently he wasn't when she heard him chuckle. "Like forty-eight hours. But I'm guessing like two years for you guys." Gabriella attempted not to laugh at Ryan and Kelsi's stunned face's at what she could only assume was Troy's accurate guess.

She felt him squeeze her hip as Ryan and Kelsi tried to formulate some sort of answer to Troy's guess. Smiling contently, Gabriella snuggled closer to him, watching as Ryan sent Kelsi a defeated look that Gabriella could tell meant that he wasn't going to deny what Troy had said.

"Uh, yeah, pretty much. Sorry we didn't tell you Gabs." Gabriella shrugged, wondering if she could pass off being mad at them when she had to admit, it wasn't a surprise and she only really wanted to gloat about the fact that she and Sharpay had been right.

Troy lowered his mouth down to her ear. "Be nice. They're nervous." Gabriella wanted to roll her eyes at his words and then wished that he wasn't right.

"Nah. It's okay. Shar and I knew there was something going on. You guys are horrible at hiding your feelings." Gabriella said and Troy snorted as Ryan raised a deprecating eyebrow.

"Uh-huh. Just like you and Troy were so good at hiding yours." Gabriella blushed at Ryan's sarcasm and avoided looking at Troy, even though she felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled. Ryan slung an arm around Kelsi's shoulders and waited for either one of them to say something.

"Yep. We were pretty pathetic at it. My grandma picked up on how we felt towards each other a long time before we even got together." Troy shrugged, not really bothered by Ryan's words. "But, hey, at least we picked up on it now. When did you guys pick up on your feelings?" Troy inquired casually and Gabriella glanced up at him, wondering if he really wanted to know or was doing it for her sake.

Kelsi shifted uncomfortably under Ryan's arm. "Uh, well, I was fifteen when I realized I liked him. A lot." Gabriella's eyes widened in surprise at Kelsi's admission.

"I remember talking about that! You didn't say it was Ryan you had a crush on!" Kelsi blushed slightly at Gabriella's exclamation, knowing full well that if her friend wasn't going to forgive anything it would be to have known about her feelings but not being told who they were for.

"Well, I didn't want you to tell Shar. She would have freaked and Ryan would have never asked me out when he did." Kelsi defended herself best she could and Gabriella was about to retort when she realized that the courtyard was slowly beginning to fill with curious students who were watching the two couples with an openness that made Gabriella feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Uh huh, sure, Theatre Boy, you do realize you have to tell your sister and she's probably going to freak out anyway, just not because Kelsi has a crush on you?" Troy asked suddenly and Gabriella had to snort at his question. Because he was right, there was no way they were going to escape a Sharpay Evan's freak out and Gabriella, knowing Sharpay as well as she did, knew that there was no way they were going to escape a freak out of epic proportions.

"What's she going to freak out about then?" Troy snorted as Gabriella stared at Ryan in wonder. Kelsi turned around to give her boyfriend a questioning look that Ryan shrugged at.

Gabriella only rolled her eyes, wondering if she was going to be the one to tell him or if Ryan thought about it for just a second longer and just a little harder he would know why Sharpay was going to freak out on all of them. When it became apparent that neither Troy nor Kelsi were going to answer him, Gabriella sighed, wondered slightly if she could snuggle any deeper into Troy's embrace and opened her mouth to speak.

"_Oh my freaking God!_ What the _hell_ is going on here?" All four of them, plus a few bystanders, jumped as Sharpay's screech that slammed through the chatter of the students who weren't paying attention to them and came to a lingering halt over the four of them.

Gabriella hunched her shoulders at the sound of her best friend's voice. Troy arms tensed around her and swallowing, she glanced guiltily at Troy before turning to face the blonde who was standing between the two of them, her arms folded as she tapped her foot impatiently.

Glancing once more at Troy, Gabriella closed her eyes and knew that it was going to take a lot of explaining before Sharpay accepted anything from what she had to say.

---

"I can't believe you and Troy. Honestly, why didn't you call me the minute you walked into your room?" Sharpay demanded loudly for what felt like the hundredth time.

Gabriella worked her jaw in a circle as she fought a headache that had begun as a small niggling in the back of her mind and had now worked itself into a small army who were shooting arrows at her temple.

"Because, Shar, I wanted to keep it too myself for a little while." Gabriella repeated and rolled her eyes when Sharpay huffed.

She couldn't believe that she'd thought Sharpay would be more concerned about the fact that Kelsi and Ryan had kept their relationship a secret for so long. She'd thought that maybe she could escape Sharpay's fury at not being told about her and Troy. No. Sharpay had harped on Ryan and Kelsi for only the first period and then had launched what felt like a full frontal assault on her. An assault, Gabriella thought ruefully, she probably could have handled better than she was.

She'd conceded ground when Sharpay asked her how she'd felt about Troy, the first in the rapid fire questions that followed her deep breath after she'd ranted about Ryan and Kelsi but had fought every inch of the way when Sharpay had demanded a description of what had happened after they'd left the restaurant. What had happened out in the desert was something Gabriella was determined to keep between her and Troy. She'd then lost the battle about the conversation at the restaurant and had allowed Sharpay to dissect every phrase that she'd thought was important to Troy's acceptance of her as a girlfriend. She'd then steadfastly refused to describe Troy's kisses and had argued with Sharpay when the blonde had threatened to ask Troy what it was like kissing her.

Now she was trying to walk two steps ahead of the blonde, fight the arrows that were just beginning to get the better of her and control the urge to scream at something or hit Sharpay.

It wasn't helping that, somehow, they'd become caught up in the stampede for the gym. Apparently, the mixed game that Troy and Coach Bolton had organized was as anticipated as it was impromptu and despite her headache and friend, Gabriella was looking forward to watching the game, especially seeing as Troy had mentioned he might be playing.

"Gabriella, are you listening to me?" Sharpay demanded as Gabriella caught the gym door before it swung closed on them. Rolling her eyes at Sharpay's question, Gabriella considered lying to her.

"No. I'm not. Go irritate Kelsi." Gabriella snapped and failed to even _look_ guilty at the offended look Sharpay gave her. She couldn't help it, she had a feeling that Sharpay was going to start whining in a minute and while Gabriella could handle her minute-by-minute dissection of Troy's behavior during, she doubted she could handle the tone of Sharpay's voice when she started whining.

"But Gabriella!" At the sound of Sharpay's whine, Gabriella narrowed her eyes and pointed towards where they could see Ryan and Kelsi sitting on the bleachers. Sharpay huffed even as Gabriella stalked off, intent on finding her boyfriend and staying with him all game, if possible.

As she weaved through the cluster of students who were chattering and finding seats, Gabriella wondered if Sharpay would have reacted less violently to her and Troy's announcement if it hadn't been made at the same time they found out their suspicions of Kelsi and Ryan had been right all along. While she knew Sharpay only had their best interests at heart, there was only so much one person could take at one time.

Which could possibly explain why Sharpay was only harping on one thing instead of two.

Stopping for a moment, Gabriella raised her hand and dug her forehead into her palm, trying to lessen the tension the arrows were creating and trying to look for Troy at the same time. She found she didn't have to look far. Troy was standing in front of her, his arms folded as he watched his team warm up.

Sighing in relief, Gabriella's hand dropped from her forehead and she headed over to her boyfriend, ignoring the strange looks she was getting from the students she passed. Reaching Troy, Gabriella slid her arms around his waist as she pressed her forehead to his shoulder in one smooth movement.

She smiled softly when Troy laced their fingers together. "Sharpay could _not_ have been that bad." Her smile instantly turned to a frown at the amusement in Troy's voice and she pulled away from where she'd been hiding to argue.

"She was! Don't you give me that look," Gabriella warned when Troy turned to grin down at her. "I didn't see you spending all day listening to her whine about the fact that I hadn't told her all weekend." Gabriella huffed when Troy kept smirking at her, his blue eyes dancing with mirth.

"Actually, she came and found me during her free period to lecture me on the importance of you telling her things." Gabriella's mouth dropped open at Troy's words and he burst out laughing.

"She didn't! I'm going to kill her! Honestly, she promised she wouldn't go complaining to you. At least," Gabriella frowned for a moment. "I think she did." Troy tried not to laugh again and failed as Gabriella's face contorted as she tried to remember what, exactly, Sharpay had promised in regards to Troy before the arrows had began their attack.

"It's okay, babe. I didn't mind. I ignored her mostly. Besides, she needed to complain to someone about the fact that her brother is an imbecile who doesn't tell her anything." Troy rubbed a hand down Gabriella's back soothingly and Gabriella frowned.

"Oh. Well. If that's the case, then I shouldn't worry should I?" She asked and Troy shook his head, laughing a bit at her words.

"No you shouldn't and besides, look at it this way, at least now everyone knows. I mean, my parents do. Mom guessed the moment I walked through the door on Friday night." Troy pointed out and Gabriella giggled a little at his words, finding it amusing that all Diane Bolton had to do was to look at her son and know what had happened.

Chuckling slightly, Gabriella rested her head on his shoulder. "Just like you grandmother did when you hesitated on saying the word 'friends'." Gabriella teased lightly and Troy's chest jerked.

"Yeah, yeah. But look, we're here now and really that's all that matters, right?" Troy asked and Gabriella shrugged.

"I guess so." Troy scoffed at her words.

"You guess so? Gabriella, Gabriella," shaking his head, Troy pulled away so her could look at her properly. "You do realize that after spending two years pretending we're okay being just friends and telling ourselves that we were okay with being just anything to each because of your sister and then worrying about what she and your friends were going to say about us being together, we're finally together and finally okay?" Gabriella frowned for a moment, thinking about what he'd said and then she sighed.

Troy waited patiently, watching as she worked over his words and her brown eyes softened as she thought about what he was saying. Suddenly, she blushed and Troy fought back a chuckle at the randomness of the blush. Gently, Gabriella leaned her chin on his chest and looked up at him, the blush and the smile on her face making Troy smile down at her too. Reaching up, Troy smoothed some strands of hair away from his face.

"You know, I was so happy being your anything that I didn't realize how much I wanted to be your everything." She said it quietly and Troy grinned, knowing that just from that sentence, they were going to be together for a very long time.

Snuggled into him, ignoring the way the people walking past were giving them strange looks, both Gabriella and Troy knew that even if they'd been each others anything for two years, being each others everything was what mattered and it was what was going to matter in the years to come.

_**THE END**_

_**

* * *

**_A/N: Its over! I'm so sorry if you thought it was lame but there was a lot to fit in and I'm not going to write an epilogue. As it is, I've got to find the time to finish DF and Memories. Anyway, thank you to all the reviewers! You are all so wonderful and I really wish I could express how grateful I am for all of you! You're all so wonderful and I wish words could express how much I appreciate every single review. Thank you all for reading!


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